NEWS

The 4th Republican Kids Art Festival "My Azerbaijan" has been held in Baku. 

The art contest aims at promoting young talents and enhancing patriotic spirit among youth.

Co-organized by the State Art Gallery and the Khatai Arts Center, the project was timed to the Year of Nizami Ganjavi in ​​Azerbaijan.

The festival was supported by the Culture Ministry, Azerbaijan Television and Radio Broadcasting CJSC, Khatai Executive, Azerbaijan Union of Artists as well as the Association of Artists of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic.

A plein air for 16-21 years old  artists was held at the Khatai Arts Center as part of the festival. 

At the opening of the plein air, director of the Khatai Arts Center Zahid Avazov, head of the culture department of the Khatai Executive Power Panah Imanov, employee of the Azerbaijan State Art Gallery Elchin Huseynli and others stressed that the festival aims at development of creativity among youth.

At the end of the event, the winners of the plein air Eshgin Guliyev, Ayten Mammadova and Nazrin Ibrahimzadeh were awarded with diplomas and gifts.

Furthermore, a series of plein airs were held for 11-16 years old and up to 11 years old young artists.

Notably, the year 2021 in Azerbaijan has been declared as the year of Nizami Ganjav.

President Ilham Aliyev declared this year the "Year of Nizami Ganjavi" in Azerbaijan, taking into account the exceptional importance of the poet's work, which always calls people to moral perfection and instills high spiritual qualities as an achievement of human culture.

The country also celebrates the 880th anniversary of the great poet and thinker with multiple events.

The Cabinet of Ministers has been instructed to develop and implement an action plan for the Nizami Ganjavi Year.

Nizami's legacy is of great importance for the Azerbaijani culture. The poet, who began by writing lyrics in short forms – gasida, gazal, rubai has gained popularity all over the world.

The works of Nizami Ganjavi were translated into many languages. The rare manuscript copies of his works are kept and preserved like precious pearls in famous libraries, museums and literary foundations in cities such as Moscow, St. Petersburg, Baku, Tashkent, Tabriz, Tehran, Cairo, Istanbul, Delhi, London, Paris and others.

In Khamsa (Quintet), the poet revealed the living pages of history. The attack of the Russians on Barda city, a fairy tale of the Russian Princess, the beautiful Shirin amazons, battles, described in various poems of Nizami - all this is historically and geographically related to medieval Azerbaijan and the Caucasus.

The description of a man's inner world, his feelings, and thoughts along with the dynamic development of the main hero's characters underlies the basic aim and content of Nizami’s literary school.

Nizami Ganjavi passed away in 1209 in his native city of Ganja. A grandiose tomb was raised over his grave.

Sumgayit State Drama Theater has presented a video project "Meeting of Nushaba and Iskender" dedicated to the Year of Nizami Ganjavi and the 880th anniversary of the birth of the great Azerbaijani poet and thinker.

The project is based on Iskendername, the fifth poem by Nizami Ganjavi from his collection "Khamsa", written between 1194 and 1202.

The poem tells about the adventures and battles of Iskender (Alexander the Great). Nizami Ganjavi's image of Iskender appears as a worthy ruler, commander and thinker. At the same time, Nizami says that Iskender fought bloody wars. In the second part of the poem, Iskander is shown as a scientist and messenger, proclaiming the truth to the whole world.

The author of the project is the theater director, Honored Artist Mubariz Gamidov. The author of the text and stage director is the Honored Artist Namis Shirmammadov. The actors included Sevda Huseynova, Kamran Muradli and Aynur Gummatova.

Nizami Ganjavi started his creative activity with lyrical poems- gasidas, gazals and rubais. He dedicated his whole life to lyrical poems, and different philosophical problems.

The works of Azerbaijani poet and thinker have been translated into many languages. The rare manuscript copies of his works are kept and preserved in world-famous libraries, museums and literary foundations in  Moscow, St. Petersburg, Baku, Tashkent, Tabriz, Tehran, Cairo, Istanbul, Delhi, London, Paris and others.

In Khamsa (Quintet), the poet revealed the living pages of history. The attack of the Russians on Barda city, a fairy tale of the Russian Princess, the beautiful Shirin amazons, battles, described in various poems of Nizami - all this is historically and geographically related to medieval Azerbaijan and the Caucasus.

The description of a man's inner world, his feelings, and thoughts along with the dynamic development of the main hero's characters underlies the basic aim and content of Nizami’s literary school.

Nizami Ganjavi passed away in 1209 in his native city of Ganja. A grandiose tomb was raised over his grave.

Azerbaijan’s "Pomegranate Orchard" film has been successfully screened at East of West Film Days.

East of West Film Days is a festival traditionally held in Brussels by the Bozar Fine Arts Center, one of the largest cultural institutions in Belgium.

The event is dedicated to the cinema of the Eastern Partnership countries and focuses on stimulate creative exchanges and intercultural dialogue.

This year, the festival was  held virtually amid coronavirus pandemic. All the films were available on AT Klub (Arthouse Traffic) digital  platform.

"Pomegranate Orchard" is a joint production film of the Azerbaijanfilm studio and Buta Film company, shot by Ilgar Najaf  in 2016 by order of the Ministry of Culture.

The film tells about an old man who lives along with his grandson and daughter-in-law in the decrepit house amidst a huge pomegranate garden. Sudden comeback of his wayward son changes the gentle rhythm of their peaceful existence. Forgotten bitter memories come back and even more, new challenges are in store for them.

The world premiere of the film was held within the "East of the West" competition of the Czech Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.

Notably, the film was also included in the long list of applicants for the Oscar 2017 in the nomination "The best film in a foreign language".

Scriptwriters are Asif Rustamov, Ilgar Najaf and Roelof Jan Minneboo (the Netherlands). Operator-director is Aykhan Salar (Germany), animation director - Rafig Nasirov, executive producer - Akif Aliyev, and producer - Mushfig Hatamov.

The cast includes Gurban Ismayilov, Anar Hasanov, Samimi Farhadov and Hasan Agayev.

Azerbaijani carpets have been displated in Zagreb, Croatia.

The event was organized by the Azerbaijani Embassy in Croatia with the support of the Culture Ministry.

The exhibition opened on Nikola Shubich Zrinsky square and featyred high quality photographs of carpets from Karabakh, Shirvan, Guba, Ganja, Gazakh and other Azerbaijani carpet weaving schools, kept in the fund of the  National Carpet Museum.

İn his remarks, Azerbaijani Ambassador to Croatia Fakhraddin Gurbanov stressed  that carpet art is an integral part of Azerbaijani culture. Carpet weaving reflects the rich spiritual world, worldview and life philosophy of the Azerbaijani people.

The guests of the event were provided with information about Azerbaijani carpet weaving art. It was emphasized at the event that in 2010 the traditional Azerbaijani carpet weaving art.was included in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of UNESCO.

Carpet-weaving art is considered an integral part of Azerbaijani culture and craftsmanship. Azerbaijani carpets are stored in many prestigious museums and private galleries around the world.

According to their technical aspects, Azerbaijani carpets are classified as flat-woven (pileless) and knotted (pile). The flat-woven carpets are linked to the earlier period of carpet weaving. There are several kinds of pileless carpets such as Shadda, Verni, Jejim, Zilli, Sumakh, Kilim and Palas.

Shadda is a flat weave carpet, made primarily in Nakhchivan, Agdam, Gubadly, Agjabedi. The artistic composition of shadda made by complicated whipping, as well as its constituents have a complex form. 

One of the most widely spread type of the flat-weave carpet is "verni". The key pattern of "verni" is the S-element. Its shape varies, it may resemble both figure 5 and letter S. This element means "dragon" among the nomads and “water” among the village people.  According to the ancient believes, a dragon featuring carpet would protect the family from foul weather. Agjabedi, Barda, Aghdam, Nakhchivan are the centers of this type of pileless carpets.

Jejims are woven on simple horizontal looms by narrow stripes 30–35 cm wide and 15–10 cm long. The resulting product is a cloth to be used as a wall carpet, a bedding coverlet, or curtains. 

The major jejim production centers are Barda, Nakhchivan, Zangilan, Shusha, Shamakha.

Zilli carpet is characterized by stylized forms of animals and vegetal elements. In terms of their composition and pattern the Azerbaijani zillis are very diverse. They feature the images of large elements in the shape of big lozenges, paired horns, various stylized elements.

The Sumakh carpets have become widely spread and recognized over the last few centuries. Since the 18th century, they have been made in country's Guba and Gusar regions.

The Sumakh carpets feature the diverse stylized vegetal motifs, various geometrical elements such as large hexahedral, square, rhomboid medallions.

Kilim is the most widespread type of flat-woven carpets. They are made by passing the weft through the warp using the technique of compound interweaving. Kilim is characterized by a slot-like gap (opening) around the geometrical patterns.

The technique of kilim weaving predetermines the pattern shapes in the form of a lozenge, triangle, and trapezium. Images of animals, birds and humans are geometrized in kilims. Kilims of different regions are distinguished by their composition, pattern, and colors. In terms of their technical peculiarities kilims can be classified into five major groups based on the area of production: Kazakh, Karabakh, Absheron, Shirvan and Tabriz kilims.

Palas is one of the widely spread flat-weave carpets. The palas weaving process consists in passing the weft through the warp by a simple technique.

The weavers decorate the palas by traditional patterns in the form of horizontal stripes commonly used throughout Azerbaijan. As a rule, the palas is not framed by a border.

Azerbaijan's talented violinist Elvin Hoxha Ganiyev will perform on the stage of the St. Petersburg Academic Philharmonic on June 1.

The musician will delight the audience with Fazıl Say's first violin concerto, 1001 Nights in a Harem.

He will share the same stage with talented musicians from Japan, Russia and Switzerland. The musicians will be accompanied by the Philharmonic Academic Symphony Orchestra.

Elvin Hoxha Ganiyev has successfully participated in many competitions and festivals. His name is included in the Golden Book of Azerbaijan's young talents.

The musician was born in Ankara in a musical family. Elvin started playing violin, when he was 5 years old, and when he was 6 years he was sufficiently proficient to join the Music Preparatory Primary School at the Bilkent University.

At the age of eight, he gave his first orchestral concert with his grandfather, famous conductor and violin player, Server Ganiyev.

In 2005, Elvin became a member of Cihat Askın and Young Friends (CAKA) and in 2006 he was awarded 1st prize in the International Classical Culture Heritage competition in Moscow.

The musician has performed with renowned conductors, such as Zubin Mehta, Yuri Bashmet, Vladimir Fedoseyev, Gennady Rozhdestvensky, Zakhar Bron, Sasha Goetzel, Gürer Aykal, Rauf Abdullayev, Server Ganiyev, Rengim Gokmen, Naci Ozguuc, Valery Vorona, Klaus Weise, Placido Domingo ,Erol Erdinc, Jules van Hessen, Ender Sakpınar, Nikolay Lalov, and David Bernard. He has worked with masters, such as Zakhar Bron,Vadim Repin, Maxim Vengerov, Ivri Gitlis, Cihat Aşkın, Fazıl Say, Viktor Pikayzen, Yusif  Eyvazov, and Güher-Süher Pekinel.

The talented violinist is the winner of different international festivals, including the 11th International Young Violinist Competition after Wieniawski and Lipinski (Poland), International Tchaikovsky Competition for Young Musicians (Switzerland), "Classical Heritage" International Competition (Russia), etc.

He has received many honors and awards, including a medal from the Pope.

In 2018, Elvin Hoxha Ganiyev was presented with the certificate and badge of the honorary title of the Honoured Artist of Azerbaijan. 

The musician was awarded with the title of Honored Artist  for his merits in the development of Azerbaijani culture.

Azerbaijan State Art Gallery has showcased art works of young talents, represetatives of AXIN group. 

The art fair is being held near Koroglu station and features multiple art works in different styles, including paintings, sculptures and products of decorative and applied and folk art.

Moreover, art lovers are invited to take part in various promotions - master classes, workshops, get acquainted with ebru art, also known as the Turkish art of marbling. 

Notably, the art project of  AXIN group was created in February 2020 by the State Art Gallery in order to support young artists and increase interest in art. The art fair will run until May 29.

Founded in 1975, Azerbaijan State Art Gallery displays over 14,000 paintings, graphics, sculptures, decorative and applied arts and contemporary art examples. 

The main activities of the gallery include preservation and restoration of Azerbaijan's cultural heritage, research on the current situation and prospects of the fine arts and decorative-applied arts and much more. 

The majority of exhibitions in Azerbaijan and abroad are mainly composed of the works stored in the gallery. 

The State Art Gallery regularly successfully holds various art projects, lectures and other events.

Dreamland Golf Club Baku will host Khari Bulbul Awards on July 5. 

The main goal of the project is to inform the general public about public and cultural figures who contribute to the promotion of patriotism and moral values.

Organized by Mirtalibli Group, the prize will be awarded to cultural and art workers, representatives of public organizations, media and business for material and moral support to the Azerbaijani army during the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh War.

People's Artists of Azerbaijan Amina Yusifgizi, Nuraddin Mekhtikhanli, Flora Kerimova, Tunzala Aghayeva, Faig Aghayev, Natig Shirinov, Honored Artists Ferghana Gasimova, Abbas Bagirov, Gulustan Aliyeva, Elnara Abdullayeva and others are among prize winners.

The event will also present the Azerbaijan Best Awards Magazine, which will provide information on the laureates of the award.

Since 2016, Mirtalıblı Group has also been holding the Azerbaijan Best Award ceremony.

Måneskin have won the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 for Italy with their song Zitti E Buoni.

Italy’s Måneskin have come out on top in what was one of the most hotly contested Eurovision Song Contests ever.

Switzerland won the jury vote in which Italy came fourth, but the 4-piece Italian rock band won the public vote by a landslide, scoring a total of 529 points and leaving Switzerland in 3rd place behind France.

Måneskin is a critically acclaimed band featuring vocalist Damiano, bassist Victoria, guitarist Thomas and Ethan on drums. They took their band name from the Danish word for ‘moonlight’, as a tribute to their bassist Victoria’s home country.

Azerbaijani singer Samira Efendi ranked 20th at the contest.

Young rock and jazz stars have successfully performed at the National Carpet Museum. 

The concert was held as part of a series of events dedicated to the International Day of Museums, which is celebrated annually on May 18.

The day highlights a specific theme which changes every year reflecting a relevant theme or issue facing museums internationally.

The Etude Band, Seymur Aliyev Trio, musicians Milan, Mikhail Altukhov and Joseph Abbas thrilled listeners with their wonderful performances. 

The virtual gala concert was co-organized by the Carpet Museum and the International Mugham Center. The concert was held within Museum Night.

Museum Night is an international event dedicated to International Museum Day, during which you can view museum exhibitions at night. On this night, many museums are open to visitors after sunset and almost until morning.

The main goal of the action is to show the resource, opportunities, potential of modern museums, to attract young people to museums.

Founded in 1967, the National Carpet Museum never ceases to amaze everyone with its beautiful architecture.

Initiated by eminent carpet artist Latif Karimov, it is beautiful inside and out. The museum's new building is designed in the form of a rolled carpet.

The Carpet Museum stores over 14,000 exhibits of the finest Azerbaijani carpets.

The museum hosts multiple events, including international symposiums, conferences and various exhibitions.

In 2019, the museum received national status for its significant contribution to the popularization and promotion of the Azerbaijani Carpet Weaving Art.

In 2020, the Carpet Museum enriched its collection with beautiful pile carpets purchased by the Culture Ministry at the Sartirana Textile Show in Italy.

The 19th century Guba carpet Ugakh was donated to the Carpet Museum, while Karabakh carpet Chelebi enriched the collection of the museum's Shusha branch.

The Carpet Museum also focuses on cooperation with world-leading museum organizations.

Moreover, the Carpet Museum won Travelers' Choice Awards for the fourth time in a row last year.   

The 8th Golden Palm Awards will be held for the first time in Azerbaijan. 

Golden Palm Awards is a prestigious award in Turkey, which has been awarded since 2014 for achievements in the fields of culture, art, media, business, medicine, sports, fashion, and architecture.

The prize has been awarded to such celebrities as Sinan Akchil, Murad Boz, Kenan Dogulu, Mustafa Checheli and many others. The event is organized by Brand Investment Group and Reputation Incorporated

Golden Palm Awards will take place in Baku in June in accordance with the quarantine rules. Turkish celebrities will also take part in the event. 

Reputation Incorporated Director Sadig Jafarov said that an entertainment program and a gala evening will be organized as part of the awards ceremony. The event will last two days.