“YARAT! Contemporary Art Space” presents “012 Baku Public Art Festival” from 25 February – 1 September. YARAT!, a non-commercial organisation dedicated to the promotion of Azeri contemporary art, is delighted to announce the launch of the inaugural “012 Baku Public Art Festival”. The first event of its kind to take place in the Azeri capital, the festival will bring contemporary art works to a variety of public locations in the heart of the Ancient city.

The “012 Baku Public Art” Festival will feature the work of twenty-one of the finest emerging and established artists in Azerbaijan. Each has been given the task of creating a visual reinterpretation of a setting that holds significance for them within the city. Working alongside local historians, they have made a detailed study of their chosen location, whether a building, park or balcony. The Festival will launch with a temporary exhibition of the sketches, notes, photographs and films made during this creative process. These materials will be on public display between the 25 February and 1 March 2012 at the “UNS Creative Stage”.

From 9 March 2012 one public art work will be unveiled, every Friday, over twenty one weeks, on the site which inspired their creation. This will allow the work of each artist to be celebrated individually, as though in a solo exhibition, but in fact as part of a city-wide festival. By bringing their work into the public sphere, the artists will gain creative freedom and will achieve a higher level of exposure without the constraints imposed by a gallery or museum.

The participating artists belong mainly to a generation of young talent, who have observed the regeneration of Baku, and are passionate about promoting Contemporary Azeri art, whilst staying in touch with their rich cultural heritage.

Works of the following artists will be exhibited : Altai Sadikhzade, Aga Ousseinov, Fuad Salayev, Mammad Mustafayev, Huseyn Haqverdi, Mahmud Rastamov, Teymur Daimi, Niyaz Najafov, Mekhti Mammadov, Rashad Alakbarov, Ali Hasanov, Aida Mahmudova Faig Ahmed, Farid Rasulov, Leyla Aliyeva, Sitara Ibrahimova, Rashad Babayev, Nail Alakbarov, Orkhan Huseynov, Nazrin Mammadova Shargiya Rahmanli.

As part of the “012 Baku Public Art Festival” the award-winning film director Rufat Hasanov will be making a documentary to record the project from inception to completion. He will interact with each artist and follow the development of their work in the lead up to the Festival, culminating with the unveiling of the artworks. This film will be shown at the closing ceremony of the “012 Baku Public Art Festival”.