Azerbaijan to host First Children's Art Festival

The Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Science and Education, and the Heydar Aliyev Center will jointly organize the First Children's Art Festival to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Azerbaijan's national leader Heydar Aliyev.

The main goal of the festival is to enhance cultural development and educate children in the spirit of patriotism, culture, arts, and traditions, Azernews reports citing the Culture Ministry.

The festival will comprise three stages, and professionals (those enrolled in relevant educational programs in relevant educational institutions) and amateurs (those engaged in mastering this field in various courses, clubs, or individually) aged 6–17 years will compete in three age groups (6–9 years old, 10-13 years old, and 14-17 years old).

The First Children's Art Festival is open to groups, associations, solo artists, dancers, artistic reciters, musicians, artists, and talented individuals engaged in decorative and applied arts. Registration will be open on the www.uif.az website from February 20 to March 30.

The first qualifying round will take place between April and June 2023. The winners of this stage will advance to the next stage.

The participants, who pass the second stage, scheduled for June–August, will reach the finals. The festival's last stage will be held in Baku in September. The final result will be determined based on the scores given by the jury.

The festival will feature a total of 21 nominations, including presentations and examples of digital art devoted to the 100th anniversary of national leader Heydar Aliyev.

The list of nominations is the following: Digital art: National leader Heydar Aliyev and Azerbaijan (videographers, photographers, presentations prepared in various software, amateur bloggers); Piano performance; Performance on classical string instruments; Performance on classical wind instruments; Performance on Azerbaijani folk musical instruments; Academic vocal; Pop performance; The art of mugham; Ashig art; Choir; Jazz performance; National solo dance; National dance ensemble; Modern solo dance; Modern dance ensemble; Acting; Artistic recitation; Storytelling (stand-up); Decorative-applied art; Painting; Sculpture.

Each participant can compete in only one individual nomination at the festival. However, those participating in a collective nomination may also participate in an additional individual nomination.

At the end of the festival, the city or district that demonstrated the highest level of engagement and participated in the largest number of nominations will host the festival the following year.

For more information about the festival, please visit the websites of the Culture Ministry, the Ministry of Science and Education or the Heydar Aliyev Center.

For more information, please contact: 0502880147 or use the short number 147 and visit the festival's official website and social media accounts on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Tiktok.

Notably, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev declared 2023 as the Year of Heydar Aliyev in Azerbaijan.

10 May 2023 will mark the 100th birth anniversary of Heydar Aliyev, the national leader of the Azerbaijani people and the founder of the independent Azerbaijani state.

2022 went down in the history of Azerbaijan as the Year of Shusha. The country's cultural capital turned 270 last year.