First Lady attends opening of Days of Azerbijani Culture in Cannes
Azerbaijan's First Lady, President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation Mehriban Aliyeva has attended the inauguration of the Days of Azerbijani Culture in Cannes, which took place with organizational support of the Foundation and Azerbaijan's Embassy in France.
Efforts aiming to introduce Azerbaijani culture started with the installation of banners and posters popularizing Azerbaijan in various locations in Cannes.
The first event, the inauguration of the 4th International Maiden Tower Festival, took place in La Croisette. Mehriban Aliyeva, Mayor of the city of Cannes Bernard Brochand, and United Nations Under-Secretary General Philippe Douste-Blazy attended the opening ceremony.
Speaking at the event, the Cannes Mayor said he was pleased with the demonstration of Azerbaijani culture in this city, and welcomed Mehriban Aliyeva, who arrived in Cannes to participate in relevant events. Brochand expressed confidence that the events to be held in the coming days will be a success.
Vice President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation Leyla Aliyeva said in her remarks that Azerbaijan's old history, rich culture and traditions would be presented during the Days of Azerbaijani Culture in Cannes. Leyla Aliyeva noted that the Days of Culture had started with the Maiden Tower exhibition.
"This is the 'Maiden Tower' international exhibition, which started in Baku five years ago," Leyla Aliyeva said. "Artists from 50 countries of the world have participated in this exhibition to paint pictures on these Maiden Tower mock-ups. It is a historical monument that dates back to the 9th century A.D.
"You can also see here a statue of a gazelle. This is one of the directions of IDEA's (International Dialogue for Environmental Action) activity. Its objective is to focus attention on endangered species, including gazelles."
The project of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation devoted to the popularization of the Maiden Tower, a monument of global significance, which has been inscribed by UNESCO as a World Cultural Heritage Site, for the first time took place in 2010 in Baku, and over three consecutive years it has been presented to the audience. With the 4th festival held beyond the borders of Azerbaijan, over 40 artists from around the world took part in the event. The primary factor of the "Maiden Tower" exhibition-festival is portraying various ideas on mock-ups of this historical monument. Decorating models of the tower in their national styles, local and foreign artists reflected the synthesis of different cultures and traditions. Thus, the exhibition's conceptual borders of thought are extremely broad and comprehensive.
One of the distinct features of the exhibition is that a new component was added to the promotion of the Maiden Tower in Cannes. Placing a special emphasis on environmental protection, the Heydar Aliyev Foundation has demonstrated in Cannes the project it had implemented by decorating mock-ups of gazelles facing the peril of extinction. In total, Maiden Tower compositions of 26 artists and gazelle compositions of 17 artists are presented to the visitors.
Later in the day, the launch of the project "Cultural Values of Azerbaijan - the Pearl of the Caucasus" took place at the Palace of Festivals in Cannes, which hosts an international movie festival every year.
At the exhibition attended by Mehriban Aliyeva and the Mayor of Cannes, exhibits related to the ancient and rich Azerbaijani history and culture are displayed. All directions of the Azerbaijani carpet-making school, a wide variety of century-old carpets and carpet products are presented at the exposition arranged at the exhibition hall of the Palace of Festivals.
Azerbaijani national garments, samples of ancient coppersmith art, national music instruments, books, booklets and other publications of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation contributing to the popularization of Azerbaijan and its culture are also displayed at the exhibition. In the "Emotions" section of the exhibition, well-known artists have presented samples of contemporary Azerbaijani art.
The Azerbaijani First Lady delivered a speech at the ceremony.
Mayor Bernard Brochand said the exhibition once more proves that Azerbaijan is a secular state with rich culture. According to Brochand, the opening of the exhibition in Cannes has caused much interest towards Azerbaijan, the pearl of the Caucasus.
A dinner was also served on the occasion of the inauguration of the Days of Azerbaijani Culture in Cannes.
This was followed by the official opening of an international pyrotechnics festival which is held annually in Cannes. Official opening of this festival was made by Azerbaijan. Fireworks organized on this occasion started with the sounding of the state anthem of Azerbaijan. Works by Azerbaijani composers were performed at the ceremony. The fireworks finished with Muslim Magomayev's "Azerbaijan" song.