Inauguration of the Second International Ashyg Festival takes place

Inauguration of the Second International Ashyg Festival took place, November 12, at the Azerbaijan State Music Theatre, with the support of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation and organizational support from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Azerbaijan Ashygs Union.

First Deputy Minister of Culture and Tourism Vagif Aliyev talked about the significance of the Festival, and said the international festival, organized for the second time in Azerbaijan, was joined by masters of this art from Azerbaijan, Turkey, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Georgia and Dagestan.

Saying that the ashyg art was one of the branches of the Azerbaijani people’s folk literature and, in general, of our culture with its old history and rich traditions, Vagif Aliyev noted that today the ashyg art is enjoying the new phase of its development due to endeavours by  Azerbaijan’s First Lady, President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation Mehriban Aliyeva: “Inclusion of the ashyg art, after the mugham art, into UNESCO’s World’s Intangible Cultural Heritage Representative List” is an obvious reflection of it.”

Festival participants will perform with concert programmes in the regions of Azerbaijan.

The opening ceremony continued with a concert programme of masters of art from participant-countries.