BAKU, Azerbaijan, December 8. The official opening of the Cultural Festival of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC): Baku Creative Week 2025 took place at the Baku Congress Center, Trend reports.
Following the ceremony, high-level guests and ministers of culture from participating countries kicked off their tour of the festival’s main exhibition spaces, which this year have drawn in a major focus of international attention.
Representatives from over 50 countries, including heads of ministries, members of international organizations, and notable figures in culture, art, and science, are joining the event, where the guest list has ballooned to more than 5,000 people.
Following the official remarks, Azerbaijan’s Minister of Culture Adil Karimli, accompanied by Deputy Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Tarig Ali Bakheet, Pakistan’s Minister of National Heritage and Culture Aurangzeb Khan Khichi, Egypt’s Minister of Culture Ahmed Fouad Abdel-Salam Hanno, Libya’s Minister of Culture Mabrouka Toufi Othman Aoki, Palestine’s Minister of Culture Imad Al-Din Hamdan, and Türkiye’s Deputy Minister of Culture and Tourism Nadir Alpaslan, visited the exhibitions showcased within Creative Week.
The ministers took a gander at several of the festival’s key exhibitions.
One of the first stops was the large-scale Creative Village exhibition, featuring art installations, craft works, pieces by young artists, and workshops of creative collectives.
The delegation then proceeded to MYEXPO, the Exhibition of Cultural and Creative Industries, which this year gathered dozens of projects in design, film, fashion, digital art, animation, and emerging technologies. Guests were all ears for the cutting-edge solutions and startups cooked up by both Azerbaijani and international creators.
Significant attention was also drawn to the Islamic calligraphy exhibition prepared in collaboration with the Research Centre for Islamic History, Art and Culture (IRCICA). Ministers emphasized the importance of preserving traditional art forms and integrating them into contemporary visual culture.
The delegation further explored the I2C startup exhibition, the Omarket (Orient Film Market), the AI4Art creative workshop, the C4IR (Center for the Fourth Industrial Revolution) Talks area, and the CulTech platform, which presents technological solutions for the cultural sector of the Islamic world. Each pavilion included presentations showcasing new approaches to the development of the creative economy.
Later in the evening, an Oriental Fashion Show will be presented, featuring collections by designers from various countries of the Islamic world, combining traditional motifs with modern fashion trends.
Hosting the festival for the first time, Azerbaijan focused on highlighting the cultural diversity and creative potential of OIC member states. This is why the exhibition spaces have become the centerpiece of the day, showcasing works by artists, designers, craftspeople, and tech teams offering contemporary perspectives on the culture of the Islamic world.
In parallel, panel discussions, screenings, and forums covering film, theatre, music, fashion, dance, game design, animation, and digital creativity opened at the Baku Congress Center.
Within the framework of the festival, a high-level meeting of culture ministers of OIC member states is also taking place, where joint initiatives and new directions for cooperation in the field of creative industries will be discussed.
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