In November, the majestic Zaha Hadid–designed Heydar Aliyev Centreturned into a haven for Colombian artist Fernando Botero’s (1932-2023) exaggerated figures, his humorous take on everyday life and what he himself once described as “painted reality”. ‘The Triumph of Form’, as the exhibition was titled and curated by the artist’s daughter Lina Botero, was billed as one of the major shows of the Latin American master in the Caucasian region. With 112 works (many of them iconic masterpieces) on view, the exhibition provided a glimpse into Botero’s distinctive style and prodigious career — from musicians and society women to soldiers and even self-portraits, the show stands as a testament to Botero’s singular gaze and talent. ‘The Triumph of Form’ also marked the opening of a new chapter in Baku’s already vibrant cultural calendar — with the blockbuster exhibition, the Azerbaijani capital officially unveiled the ambitious Baku Art Weekend under the broader initiative titled 'Fly to Baku. Art Weekend: Sense the Future Now’. The city-wide festival transformed Baku into a colourful canvas, with an array of exhibitions, immersive events, film screenings, performances, concerts and public art projects unspooling in different neighbourhoods under the Caspian horizon as some of Azerbaijan’s finest creative denizens took us on a cultural journey celebrating remarkable stories of innovation, heritage, craftsmanship, art and homegrown design. If you like culture then this was indeed the time and place to be as Baku continues to position itself as a gateway to creativity and spark global conversations around art and heritage. The weekend featured hundreds of artists and creatives, doing what they do best. Poets from across the globe reciting to a spellbound audience. An enchanting night of Sufi music. Artists opened their studios — and their hearts — as they welcomed us into their sanctuary where they think, feel and create. An inclusive dance performance that wowed visitors with both its electrifying musical energy and its powerful message for sustainability and conscious living. Old city strolls that make you feel like a part of history. The festival showcased the best of Azerbaijan’s cultural heritage, featuring a roster of local and global artists and creative groups who contemplated on a common question — how can art and human creativity help us envision a better, more equitable future.
A vast and breathtaking Caspian Sea coastline hugs Baku — though over the decades, the world’s largest inland lake has faced major ecological threats. Keeping the global climate change situation in mind, Baku Art Weekend was wise to put the metaphor of water at the very heart of its critical inquiry. Like in other parts of the world, in Baku too, water served as a symbolism of resilience, rebirth, fluidity and shared history, triggering a profound dialogue between leading Azerbaijani artists such as Diana Aliyeva, Elshan Karaca, Erkin Alakbarli, Nargiz Asgarova, Faig Ahmed, Gunel Ravilova and Javid Ilham to name a few and the global artistic community at large. Most of the shows, such as Fire, Water and Kisses, I am Water, Secrets of Water Element and My Seas, My Oceans, reverberated with the theme and sound of water reminding us that climate change is not a case of impending doom but a living reality. Once a Sea, one of the most compelling works on show, highlighted the psychological and cultural connections between the Caspian Sea and the inhabitants who have lived by its shores and shared a close relationship with its sacred waters since centuries. Drawing on the ideas of Azerbaijani philosopher Hasan Guliyev, the exhibition explored water as a sentient force, its physical resonance reaching far beyond its shores as it has shaped local culture, social behaviour and the very pulse of existence in Baku. Elvin Nabizade’s kinetic installation ‘The Last Wave’ invited visitors to step into two parallel universes between sound and movement. Composed of two monumental framedrums suspended in separate rooms, the hanging instruments created by the artist viscerally brought the heaving and breathing of water into the exhibition space — as though the sea itself was chanting. An unmissable highlight of the event was Faig Ahmed’s ‘Epoch’ which brought together more than a decade of the Azerbaijani contemporary visual artist’s artistic productions. Like ‘The Last Wave’, ‘Epoch’ evoked the past with an eye firmly on the future. Ahmed’s reimagined, highly whimsical yarns displayed alongside the relatively historical output at the Azerbaijan Carpet Museum (designed by the Austrian architect Franz Janz in the shape of a rolled-up rug) is a testament to his singular vision and ability to reconnect Baku with its roots in the face of globalisation and sadly, even as we lose our traditional craft-based heritage. His 2016 video art Social Anatomy is an attempt to wave time and movement into the intricate rhythms of a traditional Azeri carpet. A particularly evocative work was an inclusive, site-specific choreographic effort by DanceAbility Azerbaijan, an organisation dedicated to raising awareness about accessibility through collaborations and their timely musical helped serve as an emblem of both diversity and sustainability.
Apart from the younger breed of artists whose works captured the zeitgeist spirit, the art weekend also boasted a fascinating line-up of masters and veterans. A landmark exhibition commemorated Tofig Javadov’s 100th anniversary and it was fitting to see his legendary works in the light of an ever-changing city, as Baku steps into the 21st century bridging traditional heritage with modernity. ‘Meet the Artist’ interaction at the Azerkhalcha Carpet Gallery, located in the heart of the UNESCO-listed walled inner city, or Icheri Sheher as the locals call it, introduced audiences to the legacy of the internationally acclaimed Azerbaijan-born artist and sculptor Aidan Salakhova, who now lives in the Italian town of Carrara but continues to spend time in her beloved Baku. In conversation with curator Stephan Stoyanov, she revealed her intricate working process and why she became drawn to art in the first place. Salakhova moved to Carrara — best known for its marble industry — in search of unblemished marbles to support her radical sculpting practice. Later, in a candid and more relaxed chat with us, she joked that looking for the right kind of marble is like “hunting for gold.”
Beyond the galleries and museums, the city itself felt alive with visual encounters of continuity and change. What emerged from the weekend was a portrait of Baku as a laboratory for new ideas, fresh perspectives and limitless possibilities — one that values creativity not as ornament but as a fundamental, shape-shifting and future-forward entity. Under the festival’s all-embracing banner, art became accessible, public and embedded in everyday urban experience and for a refreshing change, one saw creativity and public consciousness sparking conversations among local Baku residents, young and old alike. The city’s artistic renaissance reflects its broader transformation: ambitious and global, yet deeply rooted in place. On our last day, we meandered through the city’s medieval sandstone boulevards of Icheri Sheher, once the city centre and today, a sacred springboard of Baku’s legends. While there’s plenty here for architecture buffs — from the glassy masterpiece Flame Towers to newer, statement-making buildings (hello, the curvaceous Heydar Aliyev Centre we are looking at you) which mirror Baku’s oil boom — the incurable romantics and older souls among us can wander around the walled city, discovering its quaint markets and mosques and unmissable landmarks like the 12th-century Maiden Tower and the Palace of the Shirvanshahs, which bear witness to the storied memories and remnants of the city’s rich and layered history at the crossroads of East and West. Baku, by and large, has a distinctly European vibe but in Icheri Sheher, we feel one with its golden past. One cloudy evening, our charming guide shared fascinating anecdotes about a Venetian Gothic building named Ismailiyya Palace, a historic address on Istiglaliyyat Street that currently serves as the Presidium of the Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan. It was built for the Muslim Charity Society by the oil magnate Musa Naghiyev in memory of his son, Ismayil who died of tuberculosis. The building, the guide reminded us, has seen it all — from Soviet communism to Armenian armed attacks and yet, it stands tall. So does Baku.
wknd@khaleejtimes.com
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