Exhibition in Baku promotes so-called 'Western Azerbaijan' narrative through art, watchdog warns

An exhibition titled “Western Azerbaijan” by artist Ali Ismayil Aliyev has recently opened in Baku, Azerbaijani media reports suggest.

The solo exhibition is being held at the Vajiha Samadova Exhibition Hall of the Azerbaijan Artists’ Union and is organized jointly by the Artists' Union, the so-called “Western Azerbaijan Community” and the Azerbaijan State University of Economics. Organizers state that the works reflect the “historical realities”, as well as the national and spiritual values, of what they refer to as “Western Azerbaijan”.

The exhibition features paintings spanning different periods of Aliyev’s career. Organizers present the works not only as artistic expressions but also as vehicles for preserving and transmitting collective memory.

The opening ceremony was attended by government officials, members of parliament, intellectuals and representatives of the “Western Azerbaijan Community”. Speakers emphasized the importance of such initiatives in maintaining “historical memory” and passing it on to future generations, highlighting art’s role in shaping national identity and sustaining connections to what was described as a “lost homeland”.

According to the Artsakh Monument Watch, which tracks cultural heritage in Artsakh, the exhibition reflects a broader trend of employing cultural platforms to promote political and historical narratives. The report notes that such initiatives, particularly when supported by state-affiliated institutions, illustrate the use of art as a tool for advancing contested interpretations of history.

Aliyev, born in 1960 in what Azerbaijani sources describe as the Basarkechar region, corresponding to present-day Vardenis in Armenia’s Gegharkunik Province, reportedly draws on themes of nostalgia for the Goycha region and other territories characterized as “historical lands”. His works depict landscapes including Lake Sevan, the Vardenis Mountain Range and stylized representations of Yerevan with Mount Ararat in the background.

The term “Western Azerbaijan”, as noted by the Monument Watch, is widely regarded by critics as a politically constructed designation lacking scholarly foundation and applied to the internationally recognized territory of the Republic of Armenia. Analysts argue that its use in cultural contexts contributes to the dissemination of politicized narratives and contested historical interpretations.