Contemporary Space for an Ancient Art – Azerbaijan National Carpet Museum Celebrates its 10th Anniversary of Operations in its New Building

On August 26, the Azerbaijan National Carpet Museum hosted the event Contemporary Space for an Ancient Art, dedicated to the 10th anniversary of operations in its new building. The event, which began with a video highlighting the concern of the National Leader Heydar Aliyev for the development of carpet weaving in our country, was organised by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Azerbaijan National Carpet Museum.

In their speeches, Director of the Azerbaijan National Carpet Museum Amina Melikova and Advisor to the Minister of Culture Jahangir Salimkhanov noted the significance of the date of August 26 as the Day of the Lachin City, birthday of the First Vice-President of Azerbaijan, ISESCO Goodwill Ambassador and President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation Mehriban Aliyeva and anniversary of the opening of the museum’s contemporary building. Speakers emphasised the exceptional merits of Mehriban Aliyeva in preserving national heritage and developing museum field.

The Ministry of Culture conferred the Carpet Museum with an Honourary Diploma for its services in preserving and promoting examples of folk applied art.

In a frame of the event, a video project Carpet for Me is... with the participation of cultural and artistic figures, who shared their memories of the role of carpet in their lives, was presented to the audience. A specially invited guest – author of the modern museum building, prominent Austrian architect Franz Janz, spoke about the implementation of the project, which has become one of the symbols of Baku.

As a part of the event, the following national heritage samples of the 19th – early 20th centuries as Shikhli (Gazakh), Achma-Yumma and Bahmanli (Karabakh) carpets and Pashali kilim (Shirvan) obtained from the collectors Metin and Huseyin Konukchu (Turkey), Mirco Cattai (Italy) and Hojat Abasi (Germany) were introduced.

The evening continued with the concert program Jazz Pattern by the Honoured Artist of Azerbaijan Emil Afrasiyab, who performed for the first time in a museum premises.

In 2007, the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev signed a decree on construction of a new space for the carpet museum. A large-scale project aimed at preserving, developing and passing on carpet art to future generations was implemented by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation and the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Azerbaijan. The opening ceremony of the new unique building, the architectural feature of which was the shape of an unfolding carpet, took place on August 26, 2014 with the participation of the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and the First Vice-President of the Republic Mehriban Aliyeva.

Today, the Azerbaijan National Carpet Museum is one of the most visited cultural institutions in the country.