BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 2. As part of the “Fly to Baku. Art Weekend. Sense the Future NOW” arts festival, organized by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation and the IDEA Public Union in partnership with the Ministry of Culture of Azerbaijan, the “Flow State” exhibition has opened at the Kichik QalArt Gallery in Icheri Sheher.
Baku, known as the city of fountains, is a place where water shapes both its landscape and its social life. The city’s fountains serve as gathering points where people come together to relax, play, argue, dream, and fall in love — spaces where public and private moments flow into one another.
Water in this exhibition serves as a metaphor for Baku’s movement, transformation, and vitality — a living reflection of its people, their stories, and the city’s evolving identity.
For the project, seven Azerbaijani artists — Fidan Abilova, Elnur Musayev, Gunel Jafarova, Leyla Isayeva, Nigar Safarova, Huseyn Jalil, and Aydin Baghirov — were commissioned to create artworks inspired by fountains located throughout Baku’s city center. Each artist explores how these public spaces embody collective and personal narratives, shaping not only the city’s identity but also its visions for the future.
The exhibition is curated by Lesley Gray, Sitara Ibrahimbayli, and Mahinbanu Safikhanli.
The “Flow State” exhibition will be open to visitors at the Zaman Art Gallery until November 30.
From October 31 to November 2, Baku will host the "Fly to Baku. Art Weekend. Sense the Future NOW" arts festival, which brings together art, culture, and ecology. The project is organized by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation and the IDEA Public Union in partnership with the Ministry of Culture of Azerbaijan. The author and initiator of the project is Leyla Aliyeva, Vice-President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation.
This immersive project will transform Baku into a living space of modern creativity, dialogue, and discovery. Special focus will be given to the ecological situation of the world’s oceans and seas, presented through the language of art. The main theme of the festival — water — symbolizes life, renewal, and sustainable development. As a symbol of resilience, renewal, and collective memory, water has been chosen as the central element of Art Weekend, fostering a meaningful dialogue between Azerbaijan and the international art community.
