According to materials published on the platforms “Qərbi Azərbaycan TV” and “Western Azerbaijan Community,” on 14 April 2026, a solo exhibition by artist Ali Ismayil Aliyev, titled “Western Azerbaijan,” was held in Baku, at the Vajiha Samadova Exhibition Hall of the Azerbaijan Artists’ Union. The event was organized as a joint initiative of the Azerbaijan Artists’ Union, the “Western Azerbaijan Community,” and the Azerbaijan State University of Economics (https://www.facebook.com/QAicmasi/posts/pfbid02B2RZjH7rHHP6M641UTWu9HjvnVcxcHwmMjZGQzwts88ahHJFLEP4FfVC1D8wZyLal).

The organizers state that the works presented at the exhibition reflect the historical realities, national values, and spiritual values of “Western Azerbaijan.” The paintings, which represent different stages of the artist’s creative work, are presented not only as works of art but also as a means of preserving and transmitting memory.

The event was attended by representatives of various state and public circles, including members of parliament, intellectuals, and members of the leadership of the “Western Azerbaijan Community.” In the opening remarks, emphasis was placed on the importance of such initiatives in the context of preserving “historical memory” and transmitting it to future generations.

The speakers particularly emphasized that the exhibited works contribute to maintaining a connection with the “lost homeland” and to shaping national identity through art.

It is noteworthy that the organization of such events with the support of state institutions points to the deliberate use of cultural platforms as instruments for constructing and disseminating political and historical narratives.

In this context, it is significant that, according to the presentation, artist Ali Ismayil Aliyev was born in 1960 in the region referred to by Azerbaijani sources as Basarkechar of “Western Azerbaijan,” which corresponds to the Vardenis region of the present-day Gegharkunik Province of the Republic of Armenia. According to the organizers, the works presented within the framework of the exhibition express the artist’s longing for his native Goycha region and other “historical territories,” as well as the idea of “returning” to those territories in artistic form. The paintings depict Yerevan against the background of Mount Ararat, with numerous mosques, the Vardenis mountain range, and Lake Sevan, which appears in almost all of the works.

According to the same sources, the paintings on display are presented not only as works possessing aesthetic value, but also as a means of preserving national-spiritual memory and transmitting it to future generations (https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=4473078079635076).

The formulation “Western Azerbaijan” is a political and artificial construct without a scholarly basis, applied to the territory of the Republic of Armenia. From this perspective, such approaches, especially in the fields of art and culture, contribute to the formation and dissemination of distorted historical perceptions. At the same time, the use of this terminology on cultural platforms may be viewed as a means of disseminating a politicized narrative.