Amina Melikova

Amina Melikova
File:Əminə Məlikova.jpgƏminə Məlikova.jpg Əminə Məlikova.jpg
Born	Amina Zakir gizi Melikova (1977-11-23) November 23, 1977 Baku, Azerbaijan SSR, Soviet Union
🏫 Education	Azerbaijan State University of Economics (MBA); Institute of Architecture and Art, Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences (PhD)
💼 Occupation	Art historian, curator, museum director
👔 Employer	Azerbaijan National Carpet Museum
🏅 Awards	Honoured Worker of Culture of the Republic of Azerbaijan (2017), Humay Award

Amina Melikova (full name: Amina Zakir gizi Melikova; born 23 November 1977,Baku) is an Azerbaijani art historian, Director of the Azerbaijan National Carpet Museum, PhD in Art History, and Honoured Cultural Worker of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

Biography

Amina Zakir gizi Melikova was born in Baku, Azerbaijan, on 23 November 1977.

Education

In 1994, Melikova enrolled in the Faculty of Journalism at Khazar University. She later transferred to the Faculty of Journalism at Tafakkur University, where she graduated in 2000. In 2007, she completed an MBA in Economics and Management at theAzerbaijan State University of Economics

In 2012, Melikova was admitted to the doctoral programme at the Institute of Architecture and Art of the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences. In 2016, she defended her PhD dissertation in art history, entitled The Oil Theme in Contemporary World Art, which examined artworks on the theme of oil produced in Azerbaijan and other countries. Following the successful defence of her dissertation, she was awarded the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Art History.

Career

Melikova began her professional career in 1999 within the system of the Ministry of Culture of Azerbaijan, joining the administration of the Museum Centre. At the time, the institution comprised three museums and one art gallery. In 2001, she was appointed Head of the Centre's Development and International Relations Department, a position she held until 2009.

From 2009 to 2018, she served as Head of the International Relations Department at the Azerbaijan National Museum of Art where she participated in the implementation of national and international museum and cultural projects.

In March 2018, Melikova was appointed Deputy Director of the Icherisheher Museum Centre, and in December of the same year became its Director.

During her tenure, the museums located within Icherisheher (the Old City) were, for the first time, unified under a single administrative structure. A comprehensive system of documentation was introduced, and the museums' equipment and collections were inventoried. She also organised the training of specialists in relevant fields, including museum guides.

She oversaw the modernisation of the permanent exhibitions at the Shirvanshahs' Palace Complex State Historical-Architectural Reserve Museum, the Icherisheher History Museum, and the Gala State Historical and Ethnographic Reserve in accordance with contemporary museum standards.

On 23–24 October 2018, Melikova curated the international scientific conference A Journey from Modern Azerbaijan to the Historical State of the Shirvanshahs, together with an exhibition dedicated to the heritage of the Shirvanshah dynasty. The exhibition presented, for the first time in Azerbaijan, armour and helmets belonging to the Shirvanshahs from the Military Museum of Türkiye, alongside glazed tiles from the Pir Huseyn Khanqah, bronze bowls from the Georgian National Museum, holographic displays, animated films, and interactive architectural models of Shirvanshah monuments.

From 28 September to 4 October 2019, she was one of the curators of the First Baku International Festival of Traditional Crafts and co-curated the First Baku International Congress, Prospects for the Development of Arts and Crafts of the Islamic World, held on 29–30 September 2019.

Melikova led the development of the new exhibition concept for the Baku Khan's Palace, which opened in 2020. She also supervised the restoration of a 17th-century bathhouse complex uncovered during archaeological excavations and the establishment of a museum within the restored site. The project involved collaboration with archaeologists, conservators, historians and technical specialists, and included the preparation of printed interpretive materials and multimedia installations.

From the beginning of 2023, Melikova served as Director of the Department of Exhibitions and Events at the Heydar Aliyev Center. During this period, she participated in the organisation of numerous exhibitions and cultural events. She curated the exhibitions Heydar Aliyev's Role in Strengthening Bilateral Relations Between Azerbaijan and Russia, presented at the State Duma in Moscow, and Heydar Aliyev and Art, held at the Azerbaijan Pavilion of the All-Russian Exhibition Centre. She also served as co-curator of the Azerbaijan Pavilion at the 60th Venice Biennale.

Since 2024, Melikova has served as Director of the Azerbaijan National Carpet Museum. In 2023, Melikova also curated the exhibition Uzun Hasan – Ruler of the Aq Qoyunlu. The exhibition brought together, for the first time in Azerbaijan, artefacts associated with Uzun Hasan and his son Sultan Yaqub from the Military Museum of Türkiye, together with other 15th-century objects from various museum collections. She initiated the preparation of the exhibition catalogue and supervised the production of an animated film, an interactive exhibition model and exhibition-related souvenirs.

In 2024, she curated The Lines of the Invisible, an exhibition by Italian sculptor Gianfranco Meggiato. Approximately 40 sculptures were transported from Venice to Baku and displayed across the indoor and outdoor exhibition spaces. An exhibition catalogue was published in conjunction with the exhibition.

Conferences, symposia and exhibitions

Melikova has participated as a speaker and participant in a number of international conferences, symposia and exhibitions, including:

• 2010 – 21st Century – Museum Management Conference, Minsk, Belarus.
• 2019 – First Baku International Festival of Traditional Crafts (Folk Art), jointly organised by the Icherisheher State Historical and Architectural Reserve and the Research Centre for Islamic History, Art and Culture (IRCICA), Baku, Azerbaijan.
• 2021 – National conference The Fashion Industry in the Revival of the Karabakh Economy: Real Opportunities and Prospects, Azerbaijan State University of Economics (UNEC), Baku, Azerbaijan.
• 2021 – International videoconference dedicated to International Museum Day, Baku, Azerbaijan.
• 2021 – Workshop XXIII, Reflecting Oil, organised by the University of Applied Arts Vienna.
• 2022 – Exhibition The Patchwork World of Khalida Nasirova, Baku, Azerbaijan.
• 2022 – Exhibition Gurama: At the Crossroads of Centuries, Through the Eyes of Generations, Baku, Azerbaijan.
• 2022 – 26th General Conference of the International Council of Museums (ICOM), Prague, Czech Republic.
• 2024 – Multimedia exhibition Jūlijs Straume – 150: Patterns in Different Cultures, Baku, Azerbaijan.

Academic publications

Melikova has authored and co-authored publications on Azerbaijani culture, art history, museum studies and traditional crafts. She has published more than 25 scholarly articles in academic journals and conference proceedings. In 2009, she was one of the initiators and members of the editorial and organising team responsible for the publication of the book The Nobels and Baku Oil. In 2010, she contributed to the preparation of the book Azerbaijani Oil.

In 2018, Melikova published Shirvanshahs’ Heritage in the World’s Museums, a study presenting information on more than 100 artefacts associated with the State of the Shirvanshahs preserved in museums around the world. The same year, she published Kelaghayi Art, a study dedicated to the history, regional varieties and theoretical aspects of the Azerbaijani kelaghayi tradition , including examples preserved in museums across Azerbaijan.

In 2021, she published Dmitri Ermakov: About Baku, featuring photographs of Baku from the late 19th and early 20th centuries preserved in the Georgian National Museum, accompanied by historical commentary.

In 2022, Melikova published Patchwork, a study of the history and development of the patchwork tradition in Azerbaijan, based on historical textiles preserved in museum collections.

In 2023, she published Dmitri Yermakov: Journey to the Land of Fire, presenting photographs of Azerbaijan from the late 19th and early 20th centuries preserved in the Georgian National Museum, together with historical commentary and reproductions.

• Melikova, Amina. "Article title." Problems of Arts and Culture, International Scientific Journal, No. 3(53), 2015.
• Вечно молодой Старый город

Books

Melikova has authored several books on Azerbaijani cultural heritage, museum studies and traditional crafts, including The Heritage of the Shirvanshahs in the Museums of the World (2018), Kelaghayi Art (2018), Patchwork (2022), Dmitri Yermakov: Journey to the Land of Fire (2023) and Happiness in Carpets: 10 Reasons Why a Carpet Can Make You Happy (2025).

• The Nobels and Baku Oil (2009)
• Azerbaijani Oil (2010)
• Oil and Fine Arts (2012)
• The Heritage of the Shirvanshahs in the Museums of the World (2018)
• The Art of the Kelagayi (2018)
• Dmitri Ermakov: About Baku (2021)
• Patchwork (2022)
• Dmitri Yermakov: Journey to the Land of Fire (2023)
• Happiness in Carpets: 10 Reasons Why a Carpet Can Make You Happy (2025)

Public activities

Melikova is the founder of the national brands AZERBAIJAN KELAGAYI and BUTALI, established to promote and preserve elements of Azerbaijan's traditional cultural heritage.

AZERBAIJAN KELAGAYI was founded to support research, promotion and the development of the Azerbaijani kelaghayi tradition, a traditional silk headscarf included in UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The initiative focuses on preserving and promoting kelaghayi as an element of Azerbaijani traditional dress and craftsmanship.

Melikova also founded BUTALI, a national brand dedicated to the study, promotion and development of Azerbaijani traditional jewellery art. The project focuses on the preservation and revival of traditional jewellery-making techniques and the promotion of their historical and artistic significance.

Memberships

• 2008–2014 – Member of the committee established to create the Oil Museum under the State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR).
• 2010–2014 – Co-founder and editorial board member of SOCAR+ magazine.
• Since 2012 – Member of the Union of Artists of Azerbaijan.
• 2016–2019 – Secretary of the ICOM Azerbaijan National Committee.
• 2019–2024 – Member of the Board of the ICOM Azerbaijan National Committee.
• Member of the International Council of Museums (ICOM).

Awards and honours

• * Honored Cultural Worker of Azerbaijan (2017)
• Jubilee Medal "100th Anniversary of the Azerbaijani Border Guard (1919–2019)" (31 October 2019)
• Humay Award (2020)

External links

• Amina Melikova's books (PDF)
• Amina Melikova: "We Are Living Through a Flourishing Period of Azerbaijani Culture"
• The "Aluminium" Biennale Contributes to the Development of Contemporary Art in Our Country
• Photo Exhibition "The Winter Beauty of Azerbaijan" Opens in Baku
• Book on the Art of Patchwork to Be Presented During the National Patchwork Festival
• The Exhibition "Uzun Hasan – Ruler of the Aq Qoyunlu State" Opens at the Heydar Aliyev Center
• Museum Centre Director Amina Melikova as a Guest on "Səhərçağı"
• Closing Ceremony of the Multimedia Exhibition "Jūlijs Straume – 150: Patterns Across Cultures" Held at the Museum
• Review of the International Carpet Festival Baku 2025 – COVER Magazine
• WUF13 Azerbaijan – Presidential Library
• Heritage Azerbaijan Culture

See also

• Azerbaijan National Carpet Museum
• Heydar Aliyev Center

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