CULTURE
April 15 marking World Art Day
Baku, April 15, AZERTAC
To honor and mark the birthday of the greatest artist of all time, Italian polymath Leanardo da Vinci, UNESCO`s General Conference in 2012 declared April 15 World Art Day. This day was established by the International Association of Art, to raise worldwide attention to the work of international artists, and the ways of creative expression that exist. National Art Day celebrates all kinds of art, encouraging people to expand their artistic interests, and get to know artistic mediums that they were not aware of.
The day was celebrated for the first time in 2012 after IAA put forward a proposal during its 17th General Assembly in Guadalajara, a metropolis in western Mexico, to declare April 15 as World Art Day. The date was chosen in honour of Leonardo da Vinci’s birthday, who is considered a symbol of free expression, multiculturalism, tolerance, world peace, and of course, a visionary in the world of arts and other fields. Da Vinci is a testament to the influence of fine arts on other fields and is regarded as a symbol of peace, freedom of expression and brotherhood. Art comes in numerous forms but the official categories (first established in Ancient Greece) were Architecture, Painting, Sculpting, Music, Literature, and Dance. Later, Cinema was added as the seventh art in 1911 by acclaimed cinematography professor and critic, Ricciotto Canudo.
The first World Art Day was reportedly supported by 150 artists from France, Sweden, Slovakia, South Africa and Venezuela, among others. On this day, special events like outdoor art exhibitions and cooking demonstrations were held.
In 2019, during the 40th session of the UNESCO General Conference, World Art Day was officially proclaimed as a UNESCO observance, and the International Association of Art was made an NGO partner of UNESCO.