Baku to host art contest in honor of People's Artist Sattar Bahlulzade

The Cultural Ministry's Scientific-Methodical and Professional Development Centre has announced an art competition for young artists titled "Tales in Paintings," dedicated to the 115th anniversary of the People's Artist, Sattar Bahlulzade, Azernews reports.

The art contest is organised by the Cultural Ministry's Scientific-Methodical and Professional Development Centre in partnership with the Azerbaijan State Art Gallery and with the support of the Azerbaijan Artists' Union.

The art competition, themed "Azerbaijan's Folk Tales in Visual Art," is open to young artists aged 18-30. Participants are invited to submit works that depict various episodes and characters drawn from Azerbaijan's oral folk literature.

Artists are requested to send detailed information about the works they plan to submit for the competition-exhibition to the email address [email protected] by November 25, 2024.

The submissions must include precise information about the original works, such as a photo of the artwork, the artist's name and surname, date of birth, contact number, title of the work, dimensions, technique, and the year the artwork was created. Each artwork must be submitted individually, and all information should be comprehensive.

Artists submitting information to the email address for selection are also requested to include their contact numbers. Each participant may send two artworks for the painting competition-exhibition, with preference given to medium- and large-sized pieces (e.g., 60x70 cm, 70x90 cm, 100x100 cm, etc.). The artworks must be neatly finished and framed.

It has been stated that the preliminary selection of artworks will be conducted online. Following this, the determination of the winners will be carried out by a jury composed of professional artists.

Each participant whose work is exhibited will receive a certificate, while the winners will be awarded diplomas and valuable prizes for the first, second, and third places.

Selected artworks must be delivered to the designated location for the exhibition by December 6, 2024.

With an increasing interest in landscape-landscape and still-life genres, Sattar Bahlulzade brilliantly transformed the charming Azerbaijani nature into beautiful canvases with motifs similar to fine carpet patterns.

The artist's legacy includes countless works that have been exhibited all over the world, including personal exhibitions in the U.S., Britain, Turkiye, and Russia. Many of his works include specific areas of Azerbaijan, for example, a series of landscapes dedicated to Guba area (in the north-east of Azerbaijan): "The Shore of Gudiyalchai", "A Road to Gyz-Benevsha", "The Valley of Gudiyalchai", and "The Green Carpet".

The first personal exhibition of Bahlulzade was held in 1966 in Prague. It was the first personal exhibition of a Soviet Azerbaijani artist in Europe.

In 1940, Bahlulzade worked on his final project, "Revolt of Babek", dealing with a great hero of the 7th-century struggling against the Arabic invasion.

He also created around 30 sketch diaries that contain his reflections on life and art.