YARAT! to present exhibition in Venice
By Nigar Orujova
YARAT! Contemporary Art Space, an organization dedicated to promoting Azerbaijani contemporary art locally and worldwide, participates in La Biennale di Venezia with 'Love Me, Love Me Not' exhibition.
Love Me, Love Me Not is an unprecedented exhibition of contemporary art from Azerbaijan and its neighbors, featuring recent works by 17 artists from Azerbaijan, Iran, Turkey, Russia, and Georgia.
Produced and supported by YARAT, a not-for-profit contemporary art organization based in the Azerbaijani capital Baku, and supervised by Dina Nasser-Khadivi, the exhibition will be open to the public from June 1 until November 24 at Tesa 111, Arsenale Nord, at La Biennale di Venezia - 55th International Art Exhibition.
The title of the show, Love Me, Love Me Not, relates to the vacillating relationships between the countries surrounding Azerbaijan, as well as the relationship between the artist and the viewers. It also references the work by the renowned collaborative Slavs and Tatars included in the show, of the same title.
Artists featured in the Venice exhibition include Faig Ahmed (Azerbaijan), Rashad Alakbarov (Azerbaijan), Afruz Amighi (Iran), Kutlug Ataman (Turkey), Shoja Azari (Iran), Rashad Babayev (Azerbaijan), Mahmoud Bakhshi (Iran), Ali Banisadr (Iran), Ali Hasanov (Azerbaijan), Orkhan Huseynov (Azerbaijan), Sitara Ibrahimova (Azerbaijan), Aida Mahmudova (Azerbaijan), Taus Makhacheva (Russia), Farhad Moshiri (Iran), Farid Rasulov (Azerbaijan), Slavs and Tatars ('Eurasia'), and Iliko Zautashvili (Georgia).
The catalogue is edited by Curator Dina Nasser-Khadivi and Farah Rahim Ismail, is created with participation of Assistant Curator at Tate Modern Nada Raza, Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at Metropolitan Museum of Art Nicholas Cullinan, writer and Senior Editor of Bidoun Projects Negar Azimi, Monica Steinberg, PhD Candidate, The Graduate Center, City University of New York, Suad Garayeva, writer and curator specializing in Contemporary Art from Russia, Central Asia and the Caucasus, Slavs and Tatars, a faction of polemics and intimacies devoted to an area east of the former Berlin Wall and west of the Great Wall of China known as Eurasia. The collective's work spans several media, disciplines, and a broad spectrum of cultural registers focusing on an oft-forgotten sphere of influence between Slavs, Caucasians and Central Asians.
"There is currently equal curiosity and misconception about Azerbaijan and the countries surrounding it," Dina Nasser-Khadivi says. "The works on show will provide insight into the dynamics of each nation, bringing to light forgotten aspects of history and demonstrating the breadth of vision and creativity at play within their borders."
Nasser-Khadivi is an independent curator and consultant, specializing in contemporary art from the Middle East, Iran and selected areas of the Caucasus.
Originally a 19/20th century Orientalist art specialist at Christie's, Dina began to work with Middle Eastern and Iranian contemporary art in 2006, developing an international platform for the artists by organizing numerous awareness-raising initiatives, such as the landmark symposium "An Introduction to the world of Iranian Modern and Contemporary Art" held at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, the Houston Museum of Fine Arts and the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) in Los Angeles in the fall of 2010.
With projects that have included curating private collections and advising major institutions, Dina divides her practice between New York, London, Geneva, and Dubai.
Over the last three years Dina's shift towards the Caucasus region has been driven by an affinity with the people and culture of Azerbaijan, a neighboring country of her native Iran, and her interest in the artists who belong to the growing contemporary art scene in Baku in particular.
Love Me, Love Me Not is produced by YARAT! Contemporary Art Space, an organization founded by Aida Mahmudova in 2011.
YARAT! fulfills its mission through an ongoing program of exhibitions, education events and festivals. YARAT facilitates dialogue and exchange between local and international artistic networks, including foundations, galleries and museums. A series of residencies further fosters opportunities for global cultural dialogue and partnerships.
YARAT's educational initiatives include lectures, seminars, master classes, and the Young Artist Project ARTIM. ARTIM aims to encourage the next generation of Azerbaijani creative talent to seek a career in arts and gives young practitioners the opportunity to exhibit their works in a professional context.
Currently, YARAT! presents a new project, PARTICIPATE Baku Public Art Festival, in Baku.
The mentioned exhibition is sponsored by GILAN, a consumer company with a number of brands in Azerbaijan and Jale, market-leading juice brand in Azerbaijan. Technical support is provided by the Ministry of Youth and Sports and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.