Lala Sardarli: Armenian media's claims on exhibition dedicated to Western Azerbaijan unfounded

An exhibition of applied arts held in the German city of Nuremberg as part of the "Art of Western Azerbaijan" project has sparked outrage in Armenia, Lala Sardarli, chairperson of the "Assistance in the Preservation and Promotion of Applied Arts" association, which implemented the project, told Report.

According to her, the exhibition was dedicated to the decorative and applied arts of the Iravan Khanate period, in particular, the characteristic elements of the Sardar Khan Palace, a recognized historical architectural monument, as well as the work of the Azerbaijani artist Mirza Gadim Iravani.

Following the exhibition, Armenian media outlets and an online resource billing itself as an "academic platform for the study of Karabakh's cultural heritage" spread unfounded claims, calling the project "an attempt to rewrite the region's historical memory" and "appropriate Armenian cultural heritage."

"The Armenian side's concern over the term 'Western Azerbaijan' is understandable. Today, the Western Azerbaijan Community and other civil society institutions are actively working to convey the historical truth to the international community. We, as representatives of civil society, are promoting Azerbaijan's rich cultural heritage and the history of the environment in which it was formed," noted Lala Sardarli.

She called the statements made in the Armenian press absurd: "There is not a single art critic or historian in the world who would deny the history of the Sardar Khan Palace, as well as the existence of other architectural monuments and cultural examples created by Azerbaijanis in the Iravan Khanate, and the work of Mirza Gadim. Even some Armenian scholars and researchers acknowledge this."

The project was implemented with the financial support of the Agency for State Support to Non-Governmental Organizations of Azerbaijan.