Azerbaijan to get art space

BAKU

Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, is set to get a display space for international and local contemporary art within two years and could host a visual arts biennale within three.

Aida Mahmudova, 30, an arts patron and the niece of Azerbaijan’s first lady, is currently assembling a collection for the Yarat foundation and artists’ collective that she set up a year ago. She has so far purchased works by British artist Idris Khan and Iranian Farhad Moshiri, among others. The Yarat foundation currently has a small space, but Mahmudova says she is looking for a more suitable building.
The new gallery will also host exhibitions of paintings, sculptures and videos by Azeri artists. Mahmudova, who is herself a practicing artist, says she is trying to encourage others to support local artists.