Azernews.Az

By Nigar Orujova

YARAT! Contemporary Art Space, an organization promoting Azerbaijani contemporary art locally and worldwide, invites all those interested to attend the lecture-performance "Vocalization" by Maria Vilkovskaya and Ruslan Getmanchuk on April 13.

Vilkovskaya and Getmanchuk, young performance artists from Almaty, Kazakhstan, work at the intersection of music, poetry and performance.

Vocalization is a term which means the physiological act of forming sound in the vocal apparatus. YARAT! invites to participate in a talk about the process of voice acquisition and about how this process is linked to music and other art forms.

In what way is the structure of society reflected in music? How did popular music emerge? Can pop music be considered the universal language of the modern age, suitable for expressing pressing issues? Acquiring a voice is always related to a struggle against those who say: the right to a voice is a right to power.

Voice is the most widespread musical instrument in the world. Is a society possible in which everyone makes use of this instrument?

Maria Vilkovskaya, a poet, musician and performer from Almaty, graduated from the Kurmangazy Almaty State Conservatory. Her works have been published in literary and art publications. She is a participant in various art projects.

Ruslan Getmanchuk, an artist from Almaty, graduated in biology from the Al-Farabi Kazakh State University. He is a participant in various art projects and organizer of the REPLICA-2007 festival of experimental media art.

YARAT! Contemporary Art Space is a non-commercial organization founded by Aida Mahmudova in 2011. Based in Baku, 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.