Azerbaijan to host Nasimi Festival of Poetry, Art and Spirituality organized by Heydar Aliyev Foundation

Baku, September 5, AZERTAC The first Nasimi Festival of Poetry, Arts and Spirituality, dedicated to a great Azerbaijani poet and thinker Imadeddin Nasimi, will be held in Azerbaijan on September 27-30, 2018. Organized by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation with the support of the Ministry of Culture, the Festival is aimed at promoting poetry and arts. Poetry of the great poet Imadeddin Nasimi (1369-1417), who lived six centuries ago, is peculiar not only in its brilliant skillfulness, but also in its deep sense and convincing sincerity calling everyone to plunge into thoughts about the mystery of being and to look into the deepest layers of the soul. The festival will be held under the slogans “Beyond the limited self”, reflecting the philosophical views of the poet, and “I am a particle, I am the sun” which are the poet’s lines. The program of the large-scale event will feature various types of art and knowledge fields. During the festival, programs will be organized in various places in Baku, as well as in Shamakhi, the native city of the poet. On the first day of the festival, a special tour of historical places of Shamakhi will be organized and a new exposition of the Museum of Local History of Shamakhi will be launched in front of Nasimi monument. Participants of the festival will join poetry readings by the finalists of the Nasimi Poetry Competition within the “Word” literary project and mugham programme. The Festival`s program will also feature the opening of “Hessas Deb – Ethical Design Point” and performance of “Le Gardiens du Silence” music group. On the second day of the Festival, participants will attend “Nasimi legacy in contemporary contexts” lecture by famous researcher of creativity of Imadeddin Nasimi Michael Hess at the Heydar Aliyev Center in Baku. On the same day, “Live Life” exhibition initiated by Vice-president of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, founder and head of the International Dialogue for Environmental Action (IDEA) public union Leyla Aliyeva, as well as exhibitions of “Hurufiyya” by the Barclay Foundation of the United Arab Emirates (Barjeel Art Foundation) and “77 Million Paintings” by famous British ambient music composer Brian Eno will be presented to the audience. The Festival’s inauguration concert will be held at the Heydar Aliyev Center. During the Festival days, the guests will also travel to ancient Baku - Icheri Sheher, where different exhibitions, installations, video projections will be demonstrated. Participants of the Festival will also enjoy outdoor music and theater performances. At the end of the Festival, the award ceremony of the winners of the “Word” literary project commemorating Imadeddin Nasimi will be held at the Baku Media Center.