The activities of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation in the field of culture
Construction of cultural centers
The International Mugham Center
The foundation of the International Mugham Center in Baku was an important step in the
set of projects aiming at preservation of the nation’s spiritual values and promotion of
Azerbaijan’s culture. The Center was established with a view to providing broader opportunities
for the promotion of the Azerbaijani mugham as an integral part of UNESCO’s intangible world
cultural heritage. With the foundation laid by Mr. Ilham Aliyev, the President of the Republic of
Azerbaijan, and Mr. Koishiro Matsuura, Director-General of UNESCO, the Center was
commissioned in December 2008.
Today the Center regularly hosts the national mugham conferences, international contests
and festivities.
Meanwhile, the Heydar Aliyev Foundation is supportive in establishing similar mugham
centers in countryside areas. In September 2008, the Garabagh Mugham Center was erected in
the town of Aghjabadi with the initiative of the Foundation. The Center’s indoor and outdoor
facilities, classes and dressing rooms are furnished with up-to-date equipment. Besides this, the
U.Hajybeyli Park, the area of the Center’s location, was also upgraded by the Heydar Aliyev
Foundation, with the composer’s bust and statues of his works’ heroes installed, and the whole
area improved.
The Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art in Baku was established following the Foundation’s initiative
in March 2009.
The Museum exhibits more than 800 works by young avant-garde Azerbaijani artists and
sculptors. In the meantime the Museum boasts of the collection of canvasses and sculptures by
recognized Azerbaijani artists. The Western European exhibition hall presents classic works of
art and handicraft.
In April 2011, an exhibition of pieces from the Museum of Modern Art was held in Paris.
The State Museum of Azerbaijani Carpet and Folk Applied Arts
The Latif Karimov State Museum of Azerbaijani Carpet and Folk Applied Arts, the
foundation of which was laid in 2008 by Mr. Ilham Aliyev, the President of the Republic of
Azerbaijan, and Mr. Koishiro Matsuura, Director-General of UNESCO, was erected with the
support of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of
Azerbaijan and UNESCO. The Museum’s facilities include exhibition halls, library, research