Azernews.Az

By Laman Ismayilova

Azerbaijani photographers will present the unique story of Azerbaijan's capital city Baku.

The exhibition "European architectural heritage of Baku" will be held at Center of Contemporary Art on November 6-8.

National photographers will present 20 photos of majestic gothic and baroque buildings in details as part of the Festival of Cultural Heritage "Fantazia".

Photographs of Ilkin Kangarli, Natalia Garahanova, Rustam Huseynov and Tofik Rashidov showcase the European architectural buildings of Baku.

Highlighting the rich past of architecture in Baku, photographers shed light on the issue of heritage and the importance of its passing to future generations.

Back in the early 20th century, Azerbaijan went through its first oil boom, and architects from many countries of the Western Europe were attracted to the city to design buildings.

There are many buildings built in Baku at the turn of the 20th century that spot Victorian and Western influence in their designs. Actually, the architecture in Baku has four distinct flavors: the medieval inner city, the lavish styles from the first oil exploitation, Soviet neighborhoods and contemporary designs. Many of local and international photographers documented this traces of different stages of history as a rich heritage of past and modernity through photography.

The project aims to help enhance the role of local population, the youth in promotion and preservation of national cultural and architectural heritage as well as to attract the attention of a new generation to the samples of cultural heritage.

The exhibition is held with the financial support of the Delegation of the European Union to Azerbaijan in cooperation with the Embassies of EU Member States and in particular France, Germany, Hungary, Netherlands and Poland on the occasion of the European Year of Cultural Heritage.

The event is held within the partnership of Initiative Curators Union (ICU), Contemporary Art Center (MIM) and Club of Azerbaijani Artists (BRK) supported by Administration of the State Historical-Architectural Reservation “Icheri Sheher”, Ministry of Culture, State Tourism Agency, Union of Architects, Azerbaijan Carpet Museum, “Maksud Ibrahimbeyov” Creativity Center, “Yarat” Contemporary Art Space. Scientific partners are: Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, ADA University, Azerbaijan National University of Culture and Arts, Azerbaijan University of Architecture and Construction.

The exhibition opens at 18:00.

Notably, the Festival of Cultural Heritage will run until November 10.

The First "Fantazia" Festival aimed at raising awareness about the importance of preserving cultural heritage in Baku and Azerbaijan. United Cultures provides organizational support for this celebration.

The festival features a diverse calendar of events, including concerts, guided tours, workshops, film screenings, exhibitions, art installations, competitions, and debates with internationally and locally acclaimed experts. The art director of the festival is Konul Rafiyeva.

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Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Lam_Ismayilova

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