Exibition: «I can not speak for myself»

On the evening of 19 May, the exhibition "I can't speak for myself. YOU are my voice. Street Animals in Baku" opened in Kapellhaus. Through Sunday 47 works of Azerbaijani and International artists, such as Anar Hüseynzade, Sabina Shikhlinskaya, Elena Hagverdieva, Narmin Abdullayeva, Charlie Theros and Deborah Scott are shown. Works of younger, less established artists are also represented.

The exhibition was opened by Toralf Pilz, EU Delegation to Azerbaijan, his wife Ulrike Pilz, who has contributed significantly to the organization of the event series and by Khayal Sadig, an activist of the organization Baku Street Dog Rescue, BSDR.  The event was accompanied with music of violinist Alexandra Vydria and pianist Ilgar Aliyev, who were also playing at Friday evenings' concert, together with Voice of Azerbaijan participant, singer Narmin Karimbayova.

Focus of the exhibition was, of course, the presentation of the situation of street animals in Baku but also the encounters between humans and these "lost" animals. In this context, the suffering of the animals was not recessed. The central idea on which the exhibition was based, is the appeal to human compassion and the assumption of responsibility by the individual. BSDR had set up a donation box. With donations made last year, BSDR could help already 160 dogs to find a new home.

The exhibition was excellently arranged, and many visitors took the time on the weekend and paid a visit to Kapellhaus with their families, especially since the EU Delegation was conducting its well-liked annual Children's Drawing Contest as part of this event series with the topic "Explore Your Environment". In fact, a majority of the participating children picked up the topic of their immediate environment and contributed to the central idea of being kind to animals. Also, many children included symbols of peace and understanding between the Nations in their artwork. Altogether, the organizers were impressed by the creativity and thought the children put into the contest, and it will be difficult to choose the winners.

Whoever was so lucky to get one of the few available seats for the concert on Friday evening was truly blessed: The trio of violinist Alexandra Vydria, singer Narmin Karimbayova and pianist Ilgar Aliyev electrified the audience with their performance of famous Pop and Jazz interpretations. It was obvious that the three musicians - who did not know each other before the start of the event organization - have found their natural accompaniment in each other.  Without a doubt one can say that Narmin Karimbayova is one of the best singers, Azerbaijan can be proud to have - the warmth and the versatility of her voice are simply outstanding and do not need to shy away from a comparison with singers such as Adele.  Alexandra Vydria and Ilgar Aliyev accentuated with their absolutely impeccable, improvised play Narmin's superior qualities as a singer and performer. The concert was sweeping people off their seats and resulted in long standing ovations. The audience may well have witnessed the start of an exciting career for this remarkable trio. One can only wish for bigger stages for them and enough media coverage to pave their way to stardom! Thanks to them and all the many talented artists, who have invested their time and thought into these events, the topic of Street animals will hopefully stay prevalent. Now it is important to continue together with the efforts and carry the thoughts further into society. -0-