“Women Create….” project has been accomplished

“Sonmaz Mashal” Cultural Relations Public Union has accomplished a project with the recommendation of the National Commission of the Republic of Azerbaijan for UNESCO and under the financial support of UNESCO entitled “Women Create! Gender equality and creative conversations on women’s achievements in Azerbaijan”.

Special workshops have been organized for about 40 best young Azerbaijani women visual artists and literary writers within the framework of the project. During the workshops, creative women talked about the life and achievements of the Azerbaijani woman, and the problems they faced. On the basis of creative exchanges, writers devoted artworks to paintings - miniature stories, poems and essays and artists painted new artworks. The workshop was led by Alison Mandabil, a teacher from the California State University, a poet and interpreter from the United States and Shahla Naghiyeva, chairman of the &Sonmaz Mashal Cultural Relations Public Union. Works created as a result of the creative communication of artists and writers have been prepared as a volume for publication and art samples have been translated into English.

At the end, the book-album titled & Azerbaijan Woman Creates: Communication between writers and artists & was published with their artistic samples and translation into English.

The book dedicated to the accomplishment of the project  "Women Create" gender equality and creative conversations on women's success in Azerbaijan, was presented and an exhibition of paintings drawn from creative workshops was organized at the ceremony. Some of the female writers have read samples of art pieces from the book.

Sarraf Huseynov, vice-rector of Azerbaijan University of Languages, Leyla Hajiyeva, second secretary of the National Commission of the Republic of Azerbaijan for UNESCO and Konul Bunyadzadeh, member of the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences talked about the importance of the project held at the American Center of the Azerbaijan University of Languages. Writers SvetlanaTuran, Jale Ismail, Rabiga Nazimgizi, Sevinc Çılgın, Nurane Nur, Aysel Kerim and others spoke about their participation in the project and read out artistic samples.

It should be noted that Sonmaz Mashal Cultural Relations Public Union, which was registered in 2004, has already accomplished two more projects with UNESCO financial support. The website of the Treasure of Azerbaijani Language http://www.translit.az/ which collects information on translation literature, has published classical Azerbaijani women writers’ poetry anthology in Azerbaijani and English languages.