Exhibition on grand Venice carnival captivates Baku residents
By Nigar Orujova
A grand Secrets of the Venetian Masks exhibition devoted to the history of the ancient Italian city, the Carnival of Venice and its trademark masks fascinated visitors of the Museum Center in the Azerbaijani capital Baku.
The exhibition, being organized by the Museum Center of Azerbaijan's Culture and Tourism Ministry on December 19-25, sparked enornous interest of the local public, as many people wanted to see the famous Carnival of Venice once in a lifetime.
The annual Carnival of Venice was first held in Venice in the 11th century and was remembered by over two months of revelry, before it fell into decline during the 18th century.
It was revived in 1979 with great success and nowadays it is a great excuse to don a mask and costume, parade around the city, enjoy the live music in the main squares of the city, the events organized by the tourism board, and is a wonderful open-air festival where everyone can join in.
Opening the exhibition, Deputy Minister of Culture and Tourism Adalat Veliyev said this exhibition was the last one in 2012.
"Azerbaijan has held a number of international art exhibitions and music festivals. Baku turned into one of the cultural centers in Europe and this exhibition proves it," Veliyev said.
The exhibition's theme drew artists' interest and stimulated them to create a large variety of paintings, sculptures, batiks, dolls, and retrospective works devoted to Venice for this exhibition specially.
According to the Museum Center head, Liana Vezirova, the exhibition has many surprises for the public, one of which is real Venice masks, brought from Venice to Baku by the Viva Bella company.
Traditionally, these masks are a unique form of handmade art. They represent painting, jewelry and sculpture in one artifact. Many of the tourists who arrive in this beautiful city wish to purchase these outstanding works of art, but the difficulty of carriage makes their dreams hard to materialize.
However, the exhibition's organizers created a special opportunity for the visitors to buy these magnificent masks, which are unique home and office adornments creating festive atmosphere, or some other souvenirs.
The exhibition also featured Murano glass - a famous product of the Venetian islands of Murano.
Films on the history of Venice and the Carnival of Venice were also screened within the exhibition.
The popular Gunay children's theater presented the Maresca dance from "Romeo and Juliet" and participated in the exhibition, which featured their outstanding costumes.
Well-known fashion designer Nadiya Taziyeva introduced her new collection of trendy costumes in the Venice carnival style with outstanding Venice masks.
The fabulous atmosphere made the exhibition a real New Year present to the residents of Baku.