Carpet Museum announces Nasimi sketch contest

By Azernews

By Laman Ismayilova

Azerbaijan Carpet Museum has announced the art competition dedicated to the great Azerbaijani poet, Imadaddin Nasimi.

President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev signed a Decree on the celebration of the 650th anniversary of the great Azerbaijani poet Imadaddin Nasimi in 2019. 

Various scientific institutions, cultural centers and organizations are holding a series of events dedicated to the life and work of the prominent poet.

In accordance with the decree, the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, the Ministry of Culture and the Azerbaijan Carpet Museum will host Nasimi carpet sketch contest as part of the 2nd Nasimi Festival of Poetry, Arts and Spirituality, Azertag reported.

Talented people over 20 are welcome to take part in the contest. 

The most creative 20 carpet sketches, selected by jury will be displayed at the Azerbaijan Carpet Museum and will be posted on the museum's official Facebook page. 

The jury includes Art Expert of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, Honored Art Worker  Emin Mammadov, Director of the Azerbaijan Carpet Museum, Chair of ICOM Azerbaijan National Committee Shirin Melikova, Coordinator of the Nasimi Festival of Poetry, Arts and Spirituality, UNESCO National Expert on Intangible Cultural Heritage Jahangir Selimkhanov, Associate Professor of the Azerbaijan State Academy of Arts, People’s Artist Eldar Mikailzade, Associate Professor of the Azerbaijan State Academy of Arts, Honored Art Worker Mammadhuseyn Huseynov.

Moreover, the first place winner of the contest will receive 4,000 AZN ($ 2,358); the second place will bring to its owner 2,000 AZN ($1,179); and the author of the carpet sketch that collects most of the votes on the museum’s Facebook page will receive 1,000 AZN ($ 589).

Three carpets will be woven on the basis of the winners’ sketches. 

If the winner is a foreign citizen, the contest organizers will cover his/her travel and accommodation expenses to participate in the 2nd Nasimi Festival of Poetry, Arts and Spirituality. 

Seyyid Imadeddin Nasimi was a great Azerbaijani poet and eminent figure in the poetry and philosophical thought of the Orient. He was the founder of a school of philosophical poetry in the Azerbaijani language.

Known mostly by his pen name Nasimi, he created a number of works in Azerbaijani, Persian and Arabic.

His poetry is rooted in the social, political and cultural development of the countries of the Near and Middle East, and especially of his homeland, Azerbaijan.

Having thought his life, the poet wrote about 300 poems, including ghazals, qasidas ("lyrics"), and rubais ("quatrains").

Nasimi’s Turkic Divan is considered his most important work, which contains 250–300 ghazals and more than 150 rubais.

After his death, Nasimi's works continued to exercise a great influence on many Turkic language poets such as Fuzuli (1483–1556), Khatai (1487–1524).

By the way, the first ever Nasimi Festival of Poetry, Arts, and Spirituality was held in Azerbaijan last year.

The event was co-organized by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation and supported by the Azerbaijani Ministry of Culture.

The festival was held under the slogans "Beyond the Limited Self", reflecting the philosophical views of the poet, and "I am a Particle, I am the Sun" which are the poet’s lines.

Exhibitions, installations, video projections, fashion show, concerts were organized as part of the festival.

The project was implemented on an international scale with the participation of world-famous singers, philosophers, scientists, who write about spirituality in modern society, as well as professionals, amateurs in this field and young people.

Nasimi Festival of Poetry, Arts and Spirituality was also held in Russia.

The festival named after one of the brilliant poets and thinkers of the East, Imadaddin Nasimi took place at the Moscow State University and the Institute of Asian and African Studies.

Vice-president of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation Leyla Aliyeva attended the opening ceremony. The event was supported by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation and the Azerbaijani Embassy in Russia.

A scientific-practical conference on "Nasimi's spiritual heritage in the historical and cultural context of the Middle Ages in the East" was held within the festival.

Influence of Islamic mysticism on the formation of the humanist outlook of the poet, the literary-philosophical heritage of Nasimi and other topics were discussed at the conference.