Amateur arts and folk culture
The Ministry of Culture and Tourism, and partly, the Azerbaijan Trade Union Confederation, support the amateur arts and people’s creativity via a network of cultural houses, clubs, parks and relevant centres which are financed by the state or by large enterprises. Cultural clubs and houses of culture provide a good background and conditions for functioning of club circles, amateur art groups and unions, clubs of interests and amateur unions, amateur art circles and collectives, technical creation courses and classes, children’s circles and collectives.
Table 38: Club circles, amateur art groups and unions, under the system of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, 2000, 2005, 2010, 2014
| 2000 | 2005 | 2010 | 2014 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 8 236 | 6 997 | 6 488 | 6 292 |
| Participants, in thsd | 107,5 | 83,6 | 78,9 | 72,3 |
| Clubs of interest and amateur unions | 1 076 | 1094 | 1 023 | 1 557 |
| Participants, in thsd | 15,2 | 14,0 | 15,5 | 17,8 |
| Amateur art circles and collectives | 6 604 | 5 474 | 4 649 | 3 887 |
| Participants, in thsd | 85,3 | 64,8 | 53,6 | 45,1 |
| Technical creation courses and classes | 556 | 429 | 816 | 848 |
| Participants, in thsd | 7,0 | 4,8 | 9,8 | 9,5 |
| Children’s circles and collectives from total | 3 632 | 3 375 | 3 284 | 2 260 |
| Participants, in thsd | 50,4 | 44,2 | 42,1 | 28,5 |
Source: Ministry of Culture and Tourism, 2015; State Statistical Committee, 2015.
Cultural houses and community cultural clubs
There has been a decrease in the number of cultural clubs over the last years. This is not only due to the fact that many of the “nomadic” or so-called “mobile clubs” or “cultural tents” have shut down because of insufficient funding, but also to the internal changes occurring within society, increased social and political activity by the people, freedom of choice and freedom to develop one’s own initiative.
Recently the Ministry of Culture and Tourism has initiated the process of reorganisation of the cultural houses and community cultural clubs system, aiming at broadening the platform of social participation in cultural life in the current economic circumstances. There are emerging ideas to reconfigure this broad system, to set aside non-working functions and develop new forms, serving as infrastructural units of Azerbaijani intangible cultural heritage, by creating -on this basis- a network of city (town) centres of culture and their local-lore, folklore and craftsmanship branches, attracting relevant masters, performers, collectives, research, NGOs and private structures. A Pilot Project of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Azerbaijan on establishing City (district) Centres of Culture is being implemented now in Lenkaran, Ismayilly, Sheki, Absheron, Balakan, Gedabey, Goygol, Khachmaz, Qazax, Qabala, Masally, Shamaxy regions in this regard.
Table 39: Clubs (at the end of the year), 2000, 2005, 2010 and 2014
| Years | Number of clubs | Number of seats in auditoriums and lecture-halls | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total | per 1 000 | ||
| Urban and rural | |||
| 2000 | 3 354 | 491 783 | 62 |
| 2005 | 2 763 | 458 702 | 55 |
| 2010 | 2 772 | 442 602 | 49 |
| 2014 | 2729 | 414946 | 44 |
| Urban | |||
| 2000 | 432 | 112 119 | 28 |
| 2005 | 393 | 104 071 | 24 |
| 2010 | 412 | 96 119 | 20 |
| 2014 | 393 | 84084 | 17 |
| Rural | |||
| 2000 | 2 922 | 379 664 | 97 |
| 2005 | 2 370 | 354 631 | 87 |
| 2010 | 2 360 | 346 483 | 81 |
| 2014 | 2336 | 330862 | 75 |
Source: Ministry of Culture and Tourism, 2015; State Statistical Committee, 2014.
Table 40: Clubs by economic and administrative regions of the Republic of Azerbaijan at the end of 2014
| Economic and administrative regions | Number of clubs | Number of seats in auditoriums and lecture halls |
|---|---|---|
| The Republic of Azerbaijan – total | 2729 | 414946 |
| Baku city | 60 | 14093 |
| Absheron economic region | 38 | 6660 |
| Ganja-Gazakh economic region | 422 | 68838 |
| Shaki-Zagatala economic region | 263 | 40384 |
| Lankaran economic region | 310 | 43095 |
| Guba-Khachmaz economic region | 240 | 30870 |
| Aran economic region | 643 | 106324 |
| Yukhari Karabakh economic region | 313 | 47480 |
| Kalbajar-Lachin economic region | 93 | 6310 |
| Dakhlik Shirvan economic region | 118 | 14909 |
| Nakhchivan economic region | 229 | 35983 |
Source: Ministry of Culture and Tourism, 2015; State Statistical Committee, 2015.
The Ministry of Culture and Tourism is the main responsible central executive body for the functioning of the clubs, taking into consideration that the district club system is funded by local authorities. There are also a number of clubs within other ministries and departments.
Table 41: Distribution of clubs by departmental division, 2000, 2005, 2010, 2013
| Year | 2000 | 2005 | 2010 | 2014 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ministry of Culture and Tourism | 3 275 | 2 703 | 2 697 | 2 680 |
| State Oil Company | – | – | 15 | 3 |
| Confederation of Trade Unions | 79 | 60 | 6 | 6 |
| Committee on Trade Union of Employees in Education | – | – | 16 | 7 |
| Other | – | – | 38 | 33 |
| Total | 3 354 | 2 763 | 2 772 | 2 729 |
Source: State Statistical Committee, 2015.
Table 42: Leisure objects in recreation centres in the system of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, 2000, 2010, 2014 (at the end of the year)
| 2000 | 2010 | 2014 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Number of leisure objects | 164 | 111 | 102 |
| including: | |||
| green theatres | 25 | 13 | 16 |
| dance pavilions and halls | 20 | 16 | 21 |
| sports facilities and grounds | 18 | 14 | 14 |
| number of video clubs, game-playing machines, computer games, youth leisure objects | 63 | 23 | 29 |
| other | 38 | 45 | 22 |
| Number of leisure objects situated in the parks territories | 150 | 93 | 96 |
Source: Ministry of Culture and Tourism, 2015; State Statistical Committee, 2015.
Table 43: Recreation centres, 2000, 2010, 2014 (at the end of the year)
| 2000 | 2010 | 2014 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Number of parks – total | … | 365 | 347 |
| Under the system of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism | 61 | 63 | 59 |
| Number of cultural-recreational and health-sports activities | 4 108 | 1 645 | 1399 |
| of which for children | 2 047 | 629 | 554 |
| Number of side-shows: | |||
| Mechanised | 105 | 66 | 47 |
| Gaming | 126 | 42 | 13 |
Source: Ministry of Culture and Tourism, 2015; State Statistical Committee, 2015.
Table 44: Recreation centres in economic and administrative regions of the Republic of Azerbaijan, 2014
| Economic and administrative regions | Number of parks | of which under subordination of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism |
|---|---|---|
| The Republic of Azerbaijan – total | 347 | 59 |
| Baku city | 105 | 7 |
| Absheron economic region | 3 | 2 |
| Ganja-Gazakh economic region | 58 | 8 |
| Shaki-Zagatala economic region | 19 | 6 |
| Lankaran economic region | 15 | 6 |
| Guba-Khachmaz economic region | 24 | 5 |
| Aran economic region | 52 | 15 |
| Yukhari Karabakh economic region | 10 | 7 |
| Kalbajar-Lachin economic region | 2 | 2 |
| Dakhlik Shirvan economic region | 8 | 1 |
| Nakhchivan economic region | 50 | – |
Source: Ministry of Culture and Tourism, 2015; State Statistical Committee, 2015.
Table 45: Circus, 2000, 2010, 2014 (at the end of the year)
| 2000 | 2010 | 2014 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Number of circuses | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Number of performances | 139 | 120 | 115 |
| Number of museums – total | 179 | 127 | 126 |
| per 1000 population | 22 | 14 | 13 |
Source: Ministry of Culture and Tourism, 2015; State Statistical Committee, 2015.
Chart 22: Number of attendees at circus, thousand persons, 2000, 2005, 2010 and 2014
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