Baku hosts international dolls biennale
By Nazrin Gadimova
The second Baku International Dolls Biennale is being held in Baku on November 5-10, the Azerbaijani Culture and Tourism Ministry reported.
The Biennale is being held at the Art Gallery of the Museum Center in Baku.
Puppet masters from Azerbaijan, Russia, Ukraine, Italy, Latvia, Georgia, Belarus, Belgium, Czech Republic, Estonia, Germany, Kazakhstan, and Israel will participate at the "Fusion Dolls" exhibition.
The exhibition is organized by the ministry, "Kukla" puppet mastery art gallery and Museum Center.
The name of the biennale has several meanings. "Fusion" is a jazz term that indicates the combination of Eastern and Western music, where both old and modern musical instruments are used. Another meaning of the word is used in architecture, so, combining Baku's strong tradition of jazz and eclectic architecture, the term "fusion" suits the exhibition's various kinds of puppetry arts.
The first Baku International Dolls Biennale, held on November 4-10, 2012 at the initiative of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, was attended by Azerbaijani and foreign puppet masters, and met with great interest from the public.
Famous Azerbaijani puppet masters Elmira Abbasli, Tamilla Gurbanov, Parviz Huseynov, and Irina Gundorina had an influence in developing this art in the country; therefore, "Kukla" puppet mastery art gallery which is the first specialized gallery of such profile in the South Caucasus was opened in Baku in April, 2013.