CULTURE
“Once a Sea” group exhibition launched at YARAT Contemporary Art Space

YARAT Contemporary Art Space presented “Once a Sea,” a group exhibition at the Museum of Azerbaijani Painting of the 20th–21st Centuries, bringing together works by Azerbaijani artists in painting, graphics, photography, and installation.

Leyla Aliyeva, Vice-President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, founder and head of the IDEA Public Union, and Aida Mahmudova, artist and founder of YARAT Contemporary Art Space, viewed the exhibition.

“Once a Sea” investigates the psychological, cultural, and archetypal connections between the Caspian Sea and the people who have lived along its shores for centuries.

The exposition features works by Baba Aliyev, Museyib Amirov, Anvar Asgarov, Nadir Eminov, Latif Feyzullayev, Huseyn Hagverdiyev, Mirnaib Hasanoglu, Gunduz Hunlar, Zakir Huseynov, Fikrat Ibrahimli, Ulviyya Iman, Farhad Khalilov, Nadir Gasimov, Novruz Mammadov, Ogtay Mir-Qasim, Alexandr Mishon, Elvin Nabizade, Elnara Nasirli, Maral Rahmanzade, Rais Rasulzade, Ali Rza, Aliya Bayramova & Timur Zaripov, Mirnadir Zeynalov, and CHINGIZ.

In her interview with AZERTAC, the exhibition's curator, Zahra Mammadova, said that the main idea of the exhibition refers to the concept of seascape epistemology, introduced by Hawaiian scholar Karin Ingersoll.

“According to Ingersoll, the sea is not merely a geographical location—it is a way of knowing and being in the world. In this sense, the Caspian becomes a space where identity, history, and longing are read and reimagined. Rather than observing the sea from a distance, the exhibition invites a direct encounter. Through a multidisciplinary approach, Once a Sea becomes a living archive of our relationship with water, offering poetic and critical reflections on ecological loss, cultural forgetting, and the possibility of reconnection.”

“Scientific forecasts warn that the surface area of the Caspian Sea could shrink by up to 25% by the end of this century. Although the sea’s level has fluctuated cyclically throughout history, current changes may be irreversible—closely tied to the conditions of the Anthropocene,” she added.

As part of the event, a panel discussion titled “The Shadow of the Caspian Sea” was held with the participation of curator and writer Darya Yücel, independent curator and founder of the Artcom platform Aigerim Kapar, and artist CHINGIZ.

In conclusion, a documentary film titled The Sea, directed by People’s Artist Ogtay Mirgasimov in 1965, was screened.