BAKU, Azerbaijan, December 8. The official
opening of the Cultural Festival of the Organization of Islamic
Cooperation (OIC): Baku Creative Week 2025 took place at the Baku
Congress Center, Trend reports.
Following the ceremony, high-level guests and ministers of
culture from participating countries kicked off their tour of the
festival’s main exhibition spaces, which this year have drawn in a
major focus of international attention.
Representatives from over 50 countries, including heads of
ministries, members of international organizations, and notable
figures in culture, art, and science, are joining the event, where
the guest list has ballooned to more than 5,000 people.
Following the official remarks, Azerbaijan’s Minister of Culture
Adil Karimli, accompanied by Deputy Secretary General of the
Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Tarig Ali Bakheet,
Pakistan’s Minister of National Heritage and Culture Aurangzeb Khan
Khichi, Egypt’s Minister of Culture Ahmed Fouad Abdel-Salam Hanno,
Libya’s Minister of Culture Mabrouka Toufi Othman Aoki, Palestine’s
Minister of Culture Imad Al-Din Hamdan, and Türkiye’s Deputy
Minister of Culture and Tourism Nadir Alpaslan, visited the
exhibitions showcased within Creative Week.
The ministers took a gander at several of the festival’s key
exhibitions.
One of the first stops was the large-scale Creative Village
exhibition, featuring art installations, craft works, pieces by
young artists, and workshops of creative collectives.
The delegation then proceeded to MYEXPO, the Exhibition of
Cultural and Creative Industries, which this year gathered dozens
of projects in design, film, fashion, digital art, animation, and
emerging technologies. Guests were all ears for the cutting-edge
solutions and startups cooked up by both Azerbaijani and
international creators.
Significant attention was also drawn to the Islamic calligraphy
exhibition prepared in collaboration with the Research Centre for
Islamic History, Art and Culture (IRCICA). Ministers emphasized the
importance of preserving traditional art forms and integrating them
into contemporary visual culture.
The delegation further explored the I2C startup exhibition, the
Omarket (Orient Film Market), the AI4Art creative workshop, the
C4IR (Center for the Fourth Industrial Revolution) Talks area, and
the CulTech platform, which presents technological solutions for
the cultural sector of the Islamic world. Each pavilion included
presentations showcasing new approaches to the development of the
creative economy.
Later in the evening, an Oriental Fashion Show will be
presented, featuring collections by designers from various
countries of the Islamic world, combining traditional motifs with
modern fashion trends.
Hosting the festival for the first time, Azerbaijan focused on
highlighting the cultural diversity and creative potential of OIC
member states. This is why the exhibition spaces have become the
centerpiece of the day, showcasing works by artists, designers,
craftspeople, and tech teams offering contemporary perspectives on
the culture of the Islamic world.
In parallel, panel discussions, screenings, and forums covering
film, theatre, music, fashion, dance, game design, animation, and
digital creativity opened at the Baku Congress Center.
Within the framework of the festival, a high-level meeting of
culture ministers of OIC member states is also taking place, where
joint initiatives and new directions for cooperation in the field
of creative industries will be discussed.
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