STATE TOURISM AGENCY OF AZERBAIJAN – Sheki – Azerbaijan
AZ5500 – Sheki – Zagatala
Ceramics is one of the most ancient and widespread crafts in Azerbaijan. The first samples of this craft belong to the Neolithic era and the archeological finds show that this craft was developed in almost every major city of Azerbaijan. Today it is the city of Sheki which has kept the traditions alive and where traditional pottery is still a part of daily life. Sheki’s historical center has been recently inscribed in the UNESCO World Heritage List. The combination of geo-climatic location of this ancient city, offering an array of raw materials – clay, timber, river stone, etc. and the rich traditions passing down through generations have facilitated the development of different crafts, including pottery. The Center for Ceramics and Applied Arts was created to revive the art and craft of ceramics, bring up a new generation of artists, and popularize the different types of clay and ceramic traditions from this region in the world. The First International Ceramics Symposium was held at the ABAD Center for Ceramics and Applied Art in Sheki in 2019. Today, one can experience pottery in Sheki visiting the small potters’ shops or workshops, the central bazaar and the Center for Ceramics and Applied Arts, or enjoy the specialty food piti in a clay pot, visit Sheki Museum of Ethnography, and admire the architecture of the city featuring ceramic tiling and red bricks.
EXPLORE
WORKSHOPS
Pottery in Sheki has a special place: the signature dish of this city – piti (meat strew with chestnuts, dried plums, saffron and chickpeas) is slow cooked in special ceramic pots. Ceramic tiles and bricks are used in abundance in local architecture. There is even a neighborhood – Duluslar (translated as potters) where pottery is a family craft and traditions are passed from father to son. Here, just by wandering around the workshops, one can see old kilns, potter’s wheels, and other elements of pottery art.
ABAD Center for Ceramics and Applied Art
“ABAD” public legal entity run by the State Agency for Public Service and Social Innovations under the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan was established by the Decree of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev dated 23 September 2016. The main purpose of the project is to promote the active participation of citizens in the socio-economic development of the country, the development of micro, small, and medium-sized businesses, and the employment rate of the population, “ABAD” promotes the formation of competitive households and directly participates in the implementation of socially-oriented projects. Sheki ABAD Ceramics and Applied Art Centre is one of the functioning bodies of “ABAD” public legal entity and it is worth mentioning that Sheki City was elected a member of the European Route of Ceramics.
157 A.M.Sharifzade St., AZ 1138, The Republic of Azerbaijan, Baku
108(4)
www.abad.gov.az
Activities at ABAD
The building of the Sheki Ceramics and Applied Art Centre has leisure rooms for employees and staff members. It also houses thermal furnaces and training rooms, raw and ready-made material warehouses, ethno-boutique, and carpet-making rooms. In short, all conditions have been created for those engaged in ceramics and applied arts in this centre. The purpose of all these is to educate and support enthusiastic beginner craftspeople.
Art Hotel by ABAD Guest
This art hotel is a key cultural hot spot where guests can enjoy a great variety of local art and heritage. The hotel hosts a variety of paintings and colour schemes on the walls and furniture. Considering the fact that in the relentless quest for fresh travel experiences, discerning globetrotters have grown to expect more than just a comfortable bed and a view, with “Art Hotel by ABAD Guest”, their journey meanders from curated lobbies to rooms where the walls are not mere partitions, but also exhibition spaces, with ceramic art samples that quietly grace the corridors, rooms and the lobby of this property.
EVENTS
SYMPOSIUM
The purpose of the International Sheki Ceramics Symposium, organized by the “ABAD” public legal entity, is to exchange experience to increase the level of professionalism among the attendees and local ceramic artists, to strengthen cultural traditions and promote them, as well as to familiarize the participants and visitors of the symposium with contemporary trends in ceramics art. 26 ceramic artists from Turkey, Russia, Ukraine, Poland, the Czech Republic, Latvia, Iraq, Norway, Brazil, Tunisia, Bangladesh, Jordan, Kyrgyzstan, and Mongolia attended the symposium.
