“This too shall pass”

“This too shall pass” is the title of one of the works exhibited by Yarat contemporary art organization at Venice Biennale in 2013. The choice of this artwork as a cover image is not random. This non-space artwork consists of light coming through letters made from Plexiglas, that create the four-word English phrase on the opposite wall. The interpretation of this work relates to the history of the Azerbaijani alphabet that has been changed four times over the last century. This depiction of a linguistic heritage full of temporality, perpetual change, and generational break altogether portrays the modern Azerbaijani art market. However, in the last decennium, the local art market had a significant boost characterized by the launch of art institutions, commercial art galleries and active presence of local artists on the global art events. The visibility of the peripheral artists on the central art events demonstrates the globalization and economic internationalization of the visual arts. This exploratory thesis aims to examine the adoption of the western model and the influence of the local contexts in the emerging Azerbaijani art market within the framework of cultural globalization. The research employs 12 in-depth semi-structured interviews with important players and ethnographic observations during various exhibitions, events, and work experience. Finally, this thesis contributes to the researches about post-soviet emerging art markets and gives an idea of the development of the art market in a small Caucasian country with complicated historical background.