Current Residents Konul Rafiyeva
Konul Rafiyeva is an independent curator and cultural practitioner from Azerbaijan with a strong background in textile heritage, contemporary art, and environmental narratives. She previously worked at the National Art Museum of Azerbaijan, where she curated major exhibitions and developed public programs. Rafiyeva has curated and co-curated projects at international biennales and cultural forums across Europe and the Middle East. Her practice explores collective memory, gender, and sonic/material storytelling. A UNESCO and IFA alumna, she holds degrees from France and Azerbaijan, and focuses on bridging traditional craft and critical discourse through cross-cultural, research-led art projects.
During my residency at HIAP, I will deepen the curatorial and conceptual development of Threads of Remembrance, a research-based project exploring memory, female labor, and textile-sonic practices across cultural geographies. I plan to engage with local artists, curators, and archives to map Nordic resonances and initiate potential collaborations. My focus will be on building a framework for a future exhibition and public program connecting Azerbaijani and Nordic craft traditions. This process is essential to rethink how shared material histories and sound can activate new forms of storytelling and cultural dialogue in contemporary art.