A common perception is that contemporary art demonstrates its difference from traditional arts and conventional culture by staying away from official political discourse and even challenging it. However, in light of the contemporary art instrumentalized by the Azerbaijani government through YARAT Contemporary Art Space and other contemporary art institutions, it appears, once again, that it's very difficult to talk about such a difference. Furthermore, the engagement between contemporary art and political elites exceeds that of other artistic and cultural fields mainly due to the elitist structure of contemporary art.

At the beginning of December 2023, YARAT, the largest contemporary art platform in Azerbaijan, announced the exhibition "Danger Cleared – No Mines," which will last until the end of April 2024. The exhibition consists of performances, video installations and graphic works commissioned by YARAT by six contemporary Azerbaijani artists and is named after Azerbaijan's official complaints about mines in Karabakh. That is why the exhibition is being held using "mined-free soil brought from Karabakh," which resembles mined land. This entry, as one of the works in the exhibition, bears the signature of the US-based artist Xanlar Qasımov. Following the introduction set in the "mine-free soil of Karabakh," artist and YARAT instructor Sabina Şıxlinskaya presents a video installation that juxtaposes the devastated khan's palace in Karabakh with Natavan's poems. Natavan was an Azerbaijani poet and daughter of the Khan of Karabakh. The installation incorporates stones from Karabakh, carefully positioned on the ground. The inscription "ANAMA" on the stones is an abbreviation representing the Azerbaijan National Agency for Mine Action. The artist asserts that her intention with this composition is to emphasize the "cultural genocide (ethnocide) against Azerbaijan."

All the pieces in the exhibition follow a similar theme and align with the prevailing nationalist narrative in Azerbaijan, portraying Azerbaijan as the primary and only victim of the Karabakh war. Certainly, this is not the initial instance where we come across the alignment of contemporary art with nationalism. Biennials, festivals and exhibitions have already become one of the tools for imagining the world through nations and nation-states by dividing themselves into country compartments. However, in the instances of nationalist contemporary art encountered thus far, at least in terms of content, nationalism has typically been showcased with the assertion that it represents a form of opposition against the prevailing narrative – such as local nationalism against imperialism, mythical essence against modernity, and the like. Certainly, in YARAT's exhibition, the absence of any "opposition representation" is evident.

Taking place only two months after the flee of tens of thousands Armenians in September and without incorporating any self-criticism regarding the war, the exhibition overtly serves as a legitimization of the prevailing nationalism and authority. In other words, the exhibition assumes the role of legitimizing Azerbaijan's official policy concerning Karabakh, not just through its name and the artworks on display but also in consideration of its timing. The exhibition's focus on Karabakh, despite the recent tragic events in September, raises questions about how and why  Azerbaijan's weaponization of the mine issue has become a theme of a contemporary art exhibition that aligns with the official policy within a mere two months. To understand this, it becomes essential to scrutinize the establishment of dominant politics through art, placing a closer emphasis on YARAT Contemporary Art Space`s structure and the current contemporary art market.

The state of contemporary art and states

Avant-garde art emerged at the beginning of the 20th century from aesthetic modernism—which sought to separate art from all political structures. Nevertheless, unlike conventional aesthetic modernism, avant-garde art claimed to re-embrace social and political structures in a radical transformative way. However, it surrendered completely to the hegemony of transnational capital, corporations, or states following the creation of its final autonomous and politically radical works in the 1960s. Avant-garde art, now devoid of its original avant-garde characteristics, has transformed into "contemporary art" both as a label and a global market mechanism. The artist involved in this form of art was diminished to the role of serving either the capital or the state. In certain instances, such as in oil-rich Gulf countries like the UAE and Qatar, it has evolved to simultaneously serve both capital and the state. Sheikha Al Mayassa, the sister of Qatar's ruling Emir, is known for allocating billions to contemporary art and museums annually. In the introduction to her 2010 TED speech in Doha, she was acknowledged as “a patron of artists, storytellers, and filmmakers in Qatar.” She used the speech to outline the motives behind substantial cultural investments under her administration and offered clues about securing legitimacy in the liberal West's perspective. In the speech, Sheikha Al Mayassa garnered acclaim from Western elites and asserted the crucial role of art in shaping Qatar's national identity. She highlighted the necessity of overcoming biases between the East and West through art; underscored the financial importance by referencing figures like Charles Saatchi and the CEOs of Sotheby's and Christie's; emphasized the prominence of women in creative endeavors; and advocated for women's empowerment. However, behind the backdrop of this speech filled with art, finance, multiculturalism, and women's empowerment, there was a problem: one year following the mentioned speech, Qatari poet Mohammed al-Ajami, author of "Tunisian Jasmines," which promoted resistance against dictators, faced imprisonment and received a 15-year sentence on charges of allegedly "insulting the emir of Qatar". Mohammed al-Ajami was only released five years later through an amnesty in 2016, and during this period, Western art institutions collaborating with Qatar remained silent, refraining from raising any objections or protests.

The individuals managing artistic endeavors in Azerbaijan are also women from the ruling Aliyev family; however, they have not delivered a success speech at TED concerning their work. Therefore, we can consider the clues provided by Sheikha Al Mayassa for Azerbaijan as well: pursuit of legitimacy among elites, the interconnectedness of art and finance, discourse on multiculturalism and dialogue, the synthesis of East and West, the promotion of women's empowerment, etc. For instance, Aida Mahmudova, the founder and owner of YARAT, is the niece of Azerbaijan's First Lady and First Vice President Mehriban Aliyeva. She creates contemporary artworks for YARAT and participates in other exhibitions as well. Her artworks are showcased in contemporary art galleries around the world, including London, New York, Dubai. Additionally, her works are featured in Azerbaijani national pavilions, including those in Venice and Vienna. Well, if contemporary art is primarily a means of securing legitimacy on the global stage and integrating into the international capital sphere, what is the purpose of the organization of exhibitions with narratives aligned with dominant discourses and nationalism for the domestic audience, as seen in YARAT's latest exhibition? One additional question arises: Why does the state, having already utilized domains like mass media, education, and traditional culture for its policies, find it necessary to employ contemporary art, a realm with relatively limited followership?

Why contemporary art?

Visual representations play a crucial role in symbolizing and sustaining community bonds and the potency of these symbols in contemporary art arises from their widespread presence. A commonplace figure, a fractured stone, a deformed piece of metal, and similar objects are phenomena we can encounter at any given moment in our lives. Hence, the initial impact of contemporary art shaping our lives emanates from its ordinary and temporary characteristics. For instance, viewers exiting the YARAT exhibition may easily perceive a sense of "Azerbaijan grievance in Karabakh war" in every piece of stone they encounter. Furthermore, within the social paradigm, a work of art or exhibition transcends its individual existence. As one link in a vast chain, it interacts with other works, exhibitions, and cultural products, collectively contributing to the formation of the "spirit of the time." It's not surprising that a week after YARAT's exhibition, the "Western Azerbaijan in our cultural memory" exhibition commenced at the Azerbaijan National Art Museum. The exhibition references the present-day territory of Armenia and reflects the implications of territorial claims against Armenia, which gained prominence in Azerbaijan's prevailing nationalism following the Karabakh war. The exhibition catalog opens with: "Our rare art monuments that historically existed in the territory of Western Azerbaijan were destroyed and subjected to unprecedented vandalism to erase the traces of our people who were deported from their ancestral lands." The exhibition itself is decorated and populated with rugs, photographs, paintings, flags, and coins, all framing today's Armenia and its capital, Yerevan, as Azerbaijani territory. Therefore, the combination of the two exhibitions encompasses two facets of the nationalist narrative: the "Western Azerbaijan in our cultural memory" exhibition continues the role initiated by the "Danger Cleared – No Mines" exhibition, extending it from the Armenian border to the interior of Armenia.

Arguably, the primary role of contemporary art for the domestic audience, from the perspective of the state and capital, lies in its capacity to design and market the public space. In the squares and streets of Baku, where all political demonstrations are prohibited and only privileged cultural activities are permitted, one can come across contemporary artworks created by the ruling Aliyev family or individuals closely associated with them. In this manner, it becomes a performance that not only shapes the daily imaginings of life but also strategically leverages urban spaces by occupying the voids left by social initiatives with artworks from an elite group. Indeed, YARAT, founded in 2011, organized its early "012 Baku Public Art Festival" in 2012. The festival featured artwork by President Ilham Aliyev's daughter Leyla Aliyeva, titled "Brain," in the central square. In 2021, Nargis magazine, owned by the ruling family, organized a contemporary art festival for children named "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Respect" in the central square.

Another instance is Aida Mahmudova's creation, "Non-Imagined Perspectives," initially showcased at the YARAT Contemporary Art Center in 2018, subsequently finding a place on one of the lively streets of Baku. The streets of the "White City district," recently revitalized through the gentrification of the center of Baku, are also decorated with contemporary artworks.

Furthermore, a recent addition to these artworks is the "Karabakh Horses Complex," commemorating the triumph of the Karabakh war. The exhibit transforms the public space, which has been emptied of people, social, and political activities, by infusing it with contemporary art embedded into the nationalist discourse, thereby aestheticizing and marketing it to attract new investors.

In describing the intersection of avant-garde art with life and politics in the early 20th century, Russian poet and artist Vladimir Mayakovsky encapsulated the idea with "streets as the brush, squares as our palette." He portrayed the fusion of people and art in public spaces, the defiance expressed by individuals through artistic means, and the consequential radical alteration of the public sphere. However, contemporary art has been reimagined as a tool by both the state and global capital, turning public spaces into aesthetically embellished yet depopulated areas through institutions such as YARAT and their privileged artists. Upon reconsidering the sequence and timing of events in Karabakh and the exhibition, it is not a leap to imagine that the next destination for the YARAT exhibition might be the uninhabited streets of Stepanakert/Khankendi. The occupation of a depopulated public space, embellished with art installations throughout and accompanied by nationalism, is the aspect of this exhibition that unsettles me the most.