A licence to create: Inspired carpets and religious brushstrokes shine at Baku Art Weekend

The many faces of art showed itself at the Baku Art Weekend, offering visitors a fresh look at contemporary creativity. A carpet might seem traditional, but what happens when we give it a completely new meaning? Carpet is traditional. It's a decorative object in our houses. It's a big part of our identity and our culture. We're using a new technique, the 3D technique, using the wool and the silk at the same time. And also the topic that I'm bringing into this context changed the Azerbaijani carpets into another level. Carpets were woven into the weekend with a new twist and thread. I was born in Karabakh and Karabakh is the heart of Azerbaijan, the cultural center of Azerbaijan. And from my childhood I was playing on this Karabakh carpet and I decided to make new types of that Karabakh carpet, which I call Karabakh Carpets 2.0. Aida Salakhova revisited the legend of Baku's Maiden Tower, focusing on a young woman's search for freedom. Maiden Tower project is connected to the legend about a young girl, about her life, her choice. This project is about my version of this legend. It's about the choice how to live, how to find the freedom. Baku Art Weekend shows that contemporary art can surprise, provoke us and change our perspective. Sometimes all it takes is just one piece to make you stop and think, and there is so much to stop and think about here. Chinese artist Zhang Shi explored how art can communicate across cultural and linguistic boundaries. Art itself doesn't need vocabulary or grammar to describe things. It is a more comprehensive way of understanding the world than language. Brian Copland turned his attention to abandoned buildings and their changing relationships with nature. Architecture takes the place of the natural world. And then nature slowly takes over the architecture, and the cycle continues. Ori Gerst used high-speed photography and technology to capture fleeting moments beyond ordinary perception. In my work, I capture moments that the eyes cannot see. And I think that it's particularly interesting because new technology is allowing us to explore and experience the world in ways that are beyond our biological senses. Different artists, different approaches, all showing how contemporary art can challenge expectations and open up new ways of seeing. Saida Rustamova, Euronews.