Sitara Ibrahimbayli
Born in 1984 | Baku, Azerbaijan
Contact: sitaraibrahimbayli@gmail.com
Instagram
Website
Youtube
Other:
https://chaikhana.media/en/authors/179/sitara-ibrahimova
Education:
2018: MSc Psychology and Social Studies Faculty, Baku State University
2010: BA Still Photography, FAMU University, Prague, CZ
2004: BA Psychology and Social Studies Faculty, Baku State University
Sitara Ibrahimbayli (aka Sitara Ibrahimova) is a multimedia artist mainly focusing on social documentary photography. The artist has been involved in the art of photography since 2003. Describing herself as a feminist, Ibrahimbayli emphasizes gender-based and social problems through her works.
Sitara Ibrahimbayli uses her art as a tool to document, show, examine, challenge, and call society to solve the problems present in her community. She has done both long-term and short-term projects revolving around the themes such as rural life, women’s issues, refugees, and victims of war. In 2019, in one of the remote regions of Azerbaijan namely Khinalig (in Guba), the artist photographed village resident Gulnara Lalayeva for the fashion magazine Nargis. The money collected was used for installing a water tank in the village, so that the model of this photoshoot – Gulnara would no longer carry water to the house by herself. In her photo project in Astana, she deals with the topic of women’s rights via the exploration of themes such as social life, maternity, and spirituality. In “A Woman’s Journey” the artist use self-insertion in her art and make herself a co-subject of the photoshoots. She finds and photographs women from diverse backgrounds, regions, and social classes. Sitara then photographs herself in the exact same scene, and spots to show the common and shared experiences of women in spite of the different lifestyles they all have. One of her notable projects of Ibrahimbayli is the photo series “Lost in Karabakh” taken in 2014. In this project, the artist expands the people that had been reduced to statistics into real and tangible humans as they were once. To do so, Sitara captures everyday objects, scraps of documents, and photographs showing the personality of war victims and reminding the viewer how real these people are.
She is also a founder of the “Cultural Intent” initiative and “VarYox” art platform. In “Cultural Intent”, the group aims to engage underrepresented, handicapped people, people with mental difficulties, and the ones in remote regions.
Exhibitions and Events
2019: “Canlı” performans by Sitara Ibrahimbayli and Vusal Rahim curated by Lesley Gray on Ta(r)dino 6 Art Platform and Var Yox platform @ Kichik gala Gallery: Baku, Azerbaijan
2019: Across the mountains: The South Caucasus Photography, exhibition curated by Anna Shpakova / Tbilisi photo festival, Stamba / Tbilisi Georgia
2019: Video Art from Azerbaijan “Maiden Tower”. To Be a Woman”art festival . / Baku, Azerbaijan
2019: Contemporary İstanbul Ta(r)dino 6 Art Platfrom booth at Art Spaces section of Contemporary İstanbul / İstanbul, Turkey
2019: “Women, Children and well – being “photo exhibition organised by Nargis Magazine and Unicef / Museum of Modern Art, Baku, Azerbaijan
2019: “Dağların Başı” Art Residency Xınalıq / VarYox / Xınalıq Azerbaijan
2019: Qadın olmaq / TAF • Tbilisi Art Fair / Tbilisi, Georgia
2018: Art director in feature film of Elmar Imanov “End of Season “
2018: Founder of VarYox – Art and Culture Magazine and Cultural Intent Charity Platform
2018: On Refugees and Migrants group exhibition curated by Alfons Hug and Asli Samadova / Kappelhaus , Goethe institut / Baku , Azerbaijan
2018: Tomorrow will be yesterday, exhibitio curated by Andrey Misiano / Erti gallery, Tbilisi Georgia
2016: “Reflector”, 300 words on resistance, curated by Bjorn Gendhof and Suad Gara @ Yarat, Baku, Azerbaijan
2015: “A Boy is OK A Girl is NOT”, BALAGAN!!! Contemporary Art from the Former Soviet Union and Other Mythical Places, Berlin, Germany
2015: “Frozen conflict”, Our land / Alien territory, Manege, Moscow, Russia
2015: “Frozen conflict”, “The Great Game / Iran Pavilion at the 56th International Art Exhibition – la Biennale di Venezia
01.08.2014: “A Boy is Ok A Girl is NOT” Astar, Yarat pavilion, 4TH MOSCOW INTERNATIONAL BIENNALE FOR YOUNG ART
2013: “The Edge” project Love me, love me not, 55th Venice Biennale, Yarat contemporary art space pavilion
2013: “Population Census”, Tbilisi Photo Festival
2012: “Commonist” Yarat, Baku Azerbaijan
2012: “Lost in Karabakh”, Tbisili Photo Festival
2012: “Population Census, personal exshibition ,(Yarat) Public art festival, Bulvard, Baku, Azerbaijan
2011: “ON SOZ”, Yarat, Baku, Azerbaijan
2011: USSR REMIX, Prague, Czech Republic
2010: ART BAZAAR, Veten cinema/ Baku, Azerbaijan
2010: “7”, Photo festival, Tbilisi, Georgia
2010: “Azerbaijani women” Museum Centre, Baku, Azerbaijan
2009: “7” exhibition curated by Sanan Aleskerov /Modern Art Museum, Baku, Azerbaijan
2008: “Independence Day of Azerbaijan”, Brno, Czech Republic
2008: Autoportret, “Objekt a subject meho JA”, Kladno, Czech Republic
2008: “Prague´s Passages”, Prague, Czech Republic
2007 – 2008: “Intimate revolt”, Prague,Istanbul, Vilnius
2007: ‘Photonic Moment”, Photo Festival, Slovenia
2007: “Contemporary Photography in Azerbaijan”, Modern Art Gallery, Moscow, Russia
2007: “Sestka”-FAMU, Prague, CZ
2007: “Khojaly Massacre” (personal exhibition), Kladno, Czech Republic
2006: “Women” (personal exhibition), Gazelli Baku, Kikala gallerry Tbilisi
2005: “Kapadokia”, organized by TURKSOY, Paris, France
2005: “Fragments of Reality”, Museum Center, Baku, Azerbaijan
2004: “Women against Violence”, Tbilisi, Georgia
2004: “Living together”, chain of annual outcome exhibitions, organized by British Council in London, Tbilisi, Baku and Yerevan. Supervised by Ann Doherty, England
2003: “Daira”, Museum Center, Baku, Azerbaijan
2003: “Ethnic Minorities Living in Azerbaijan”, Strasbourg, France
2003: “Vergul”, organized by the French Embassy, Baku Art Center, Baku, Azerbaijan
2002: “Small Business”, Open Society Institute, Baku, Azerbaijan
2002: “Ayna 2002”, first international photo festival in Baku, Azerbaijan
Sources:
https://cargocollective.com/sitaraibrahimova
https://varyox.az/visart/sitara-ibrahimbayli/
https://eurasianet.org/hip-baku-azerbaijans-creative-class-puts-down-roots https://www.imdb.com/name/nm10576880/
Born in 1984 | Baku, Azerbaijan
Contact: sitaraibrahimbayli@gmail.com
Website
Youtube
Other:
https://chaikhana.media/en/authors/179/sitara-ibrahimova
Education:
2018: MSc Psychology and Social Studies Faculty, Baku State University
2010: BA Still Photography, FAMU University, Prague, CZ
2004: BA Psychology and Social Studies Faculty, Baku State University
Sitara Ibrahimbayli (aka Sitara Ibrahimova) is a multimedia artist mainly focusing on social documentary photography. The artist has been involved in the art of photography since 2003. Describing herself as a feminist, Ibrahimbayli emphasizes gender-based and social problems through her works.
Sitara Ibrahimbayli uses her art as a tool to document, show, examine, challenge, and call society to solve the problems present in her community. She has done both long-term and short-term projects revolving around the themes such as rural life, women’s issues, refugees, and victims of war. In 2019, in one of the remote regions of Azerbaijan namely Khinalig (in Guba), the artist photographed village resident Gulnara Lalayeva for the fashion magazine Nargis. The money collected was used for installing a water tank in the village, so that the model of this photoshoot – Gulnara would no longer carry water to the house by herself. In her photo project in Astana, she deals with the topic of women’s rights via the exploration of themes such as social life, maternity, and spirituality. In “A Woman’s Journey” the artist use self-insertion in her art and make herself a co-subject of the photoshoots. She finds and photographs women from diverse backgrounds, regions, and social classes. Sitara then photographs herself in the exact same scene, and spots to show the common and shared experiences of women in spite of the different lifestyles they all have. One of her notable projects of Ibrahimbayli is the photo series “Lost in Karabakh” taken in 2014. In this project, the artist expands the people that had been reduced to statistics into real and tangible humans as they were once. To do so, Sitara captures everyday objects, scraps of documents, and photographs showing the personality of war victims and reminding the viewer how real these people are.
She is also a founder of the “Cultural Intent” initiative and “VarYox” art platform. In “Cultural Intent”, the group aims to engage underrepresented, handicapped people, people with mental difficulties, and the ones in remote regions.
Exhibitions and Events
2019: “Canlı” performans by Sitara Ibrahimbayli and Vusal Rahim curated by Lesley Gray on Ta(r)dino 6 Art Platform and Var Yox platform @ Kichik gala Gallery: Baku, Azerbaijan
2019: Across the mountains: The South Caucasus Photography, exhibition curated by Anna Shpakova / Tbilisi photo festival, Stamba / Tbilisi Georgia
2019: Video Art from Azerbaijan “Maiden Tower”. To Be a Woman”art festival . / Baku, Azerbaijan
2019: Contemporary İstanbul Ta(r)dino 6 Art Platfrom booth at Art Spaces section of Contemporary İstanbul / İstanbul, Turkey
2019: “Women, Children and well – being “photo exhibition organised by Nargis Magazine and Unicef / Museum of Modern Art, Baku, Azerbaijan
2019: “Dağların Başı” Art Residency Xınalıq / VarYox / Xınalıq Azerbaijan
2019: Qadın olmaq / TAF • Tbilisi Art Fair / Tbilisi, Georgia
2018: Art director in feature film of Elmar Imanov “End of Season “
2018: Founder of VarYox – Art and Culture Magazine and Cultural Intent Charity Platform
2018: On Refugees and Migrants group exhibition curated by Alfons Hug and Asli Samadova / Kappelhaus , Goethe institut / Baku , Azerbaijan
2018: Tomorrow will be yesterday, exhibitio curated by Andrey Misiano / Erti gallery, Tbilisi Georgia
2016: “Reflector”, 300 words on resistance, curated by Bjorn Gendhof and Suad Gara @ Yarat, Baku, Azerbaijan
2015: “A Boy is OK A Girl is NOT”, BALAGAN!!! Contemporary Art from the Former Soviet Union and Other Mythical Places, Berlin, Germany
2015: “Frozen conflict”, Our land / Alien territory, Manege, Moscow, Russia
2015: “Frozen conflict”, “The Great Game / Iran Pavilion at the 56th International Art Exhibition – la Biennale di Venezia
01.08.2014: “A Boy is Ok A Girl is NOT” Astar, Yarat pavilion, 4TH MOSCOW INTERNATIONAL BIENNALE FOR YOUNG ART
2013: “The Edge” project Love me, love me not, 55th Venice Biennale, Yarat contemporary art space pavilion
2013: “Population Census”, Tbilisi Photo Festival
2012: “Commonist” Yarat, Baku Azerbaijan
2012: “Lost in Karabakh”, Tbisili Photo Festival
2012: “Population Census, personal exshibition ,(Yarat) Public art festival, Bulvard, Baku, Azerbaijan
2011: “ON SOZ”, Yarat, Baku, Azerbaijan
2011: USSR REMIX, Prague, Czech Republic
2010: ART BAZAAR, Veten cinema/ Baku, Azerbaijan
2010: “7”, Photo festival, Tbilisi, Georgia
2010: “Azerbaijani women” Museum Centre, Baku, Azerbaijan
2009: “7” exhibition curated by Sanan Aleskerov /Modern Art Museum, Baku, Azerbaijan
2008: “Independence Day of Azerbaijan”, Brno, Czech Republic
2008: Autoportret, “Objekt a subject meho JA”, Kladno, Czech Republic
2008: “Prague´s Passages”, Prague, Czech Republic
2007 – 2008: “Intimate revolt”, Prague,Istanbul, Vilnius
2007: ‘Photonic Moment”, Photo Festival, Slovenia
2007: “Contemporary Photography in Azerbaijan”, Modern Art Gallery, Moscow, Russia
2007: “Sestka”-FAMU, Prague, CZ
2007: “Khojaly Massacre” (personal exhibition), Kladno, Czech Republic
2006: “Women” (personal exhibition), Gazelli Baku, Kikala gallerry Tbilisi
2005: “Kapadokia”, organized by TURKSOY, Paris, France
2005: “Fragments of Reality”, Museum Center, Baku, Azerbaijan
2004: “Women against Violence”, Tbilisi, Georgia
2004: “Living together”, chain of annual outcome exhibitions, organized by British Council in London, Tbilisi, Baku and Yerevan. Supervised by Ann Doherty, England
2003: “Daira”, Museum Center, Baku, Azerbaijan
2003: “Ethnic Minorities Living in Azerbaijan”, Strasbourg, France
2003: “Vergul”, organized by the French Embassy, Baku Art Center, Baku, Azerbaijan
2002: “Small Business”, Open Society Institute, Baku, Azerbaijan
2002: “Ayna 2002”, first international photo festival in Baku, Azerbaijan
Sources:
https://cargocollective.com/sitaraibrahimova
https://varyox.az/visart/sitara-ibrahimbayli/
https://eurasianet.org/hip-baku-azerbaijans-creative-class-puts-down-roots https://www.imdb.com/name/nm10576880/
“Frozen Conflict”, 2009-2014
“Molokans”, 2014
a still from “A Boy Is OK, a Girl Is Not”, 2013The full video is available here: https://youtu.be/uFHbP7tFeds
from seris of “Gerontology”, 2015-2016