On 24 February, Baku, the capital city of Azerbaijan, will host the first Baku Public Art Festival.
Working with historians and archaeologists, twenty local artists, will choose various locations throughout the ancient city as the basis for a commissioned public work, The Art Newspaper reports. Aida Mahmudova, the founder and director of Yarat, a non-profit art foundation that organized the festival said that is important for the heritage of Baku to be embraced, considering the amount of development and transformation in Azerbaijan; “the city’s history is being used to make contemporary culture.” Works of the following artists will be exhibited: Altai Sadikhzade, Aga Ousseinov, Fuad Salayev, Mammad Mustafayev, Huseyn Haqverdi, Mahmud Rastamov, Teymur Daimi, Niyaz Najafov, Mekhti Mammadov, Rashad Alakbarov, Ali Hasanov, Aida Mahmudova Faig Ahmed, Farid Rasulov, Leyla Aliyeva, Sitara Ibrahimova, Rashad Babayev, Nail Alakbarov, Orkhan Huseynov, Nazrin Mammadova Shargiya Rahmanli. The projects are due to be unveiled every Friday until September. Azerbaijan has a very rich culture,” says Mahumdova, “it is on the Caspian Sea and borders Iran, Russia and Turkey; influences that all come together to create vibrant contemporary art.”The Yarat foundation was established in September last year and is based in Baku.