Six practitioners keeping the craft in motion, each with her own hand.

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Gurama today is carried by a small number of dedicated practitioners, most of whom came to the craft mid-career, from professions as varied as chemistry, architecture and petroleum engineering. What unites them is not a shared style but a shared conviction that this craft still has something urgent to say.

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KHALIDA NASIROVA

"Gurama has radically changed my life. Gurama is my life."

Born in Baku in 1946, Khalida Nasirova holds a PhD in Chemistry and is a member of the Artists' Unions of Azerbaijan and Russia. She took up gurama on 20 January 1990 and has since raised a whole generation of gurama craftswomen. Working entirely by experience, she shifted the craft's emphasis from function to pure artistic result.

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NARKHANIM PASHAYEVA

"Meeting gurama, I found myself in a magical world. When I am working on gurama, I forget everything."

Born in Baku in 1952, Narkhanim Pashayeva spent her career as a petroleum engineer before discovering gurama in 2017. In a short span she has become one of the most prominent contemporary experts actively working in the field today.

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FARIDA MUSTAFAYEVA

"Gurama can save someone from depression."

Born in Baku in 1951, Farida Mustafayeva trained as a chemist and began gurama in 1999. She now focuses mainly on bags, book covers and wall panels, and has produced more than 500 pieces, shown at international exhibitions and held in private collections across the USA, Germany, Turkey, Japan and Korea.

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SEVINJ GULIYEVA

"A gurama hung over a newborn's head will shape their future creativity."

Born in Lenkeran in 1961, Sevinj Guliyeva is a professional painter who learned gurama from her grandmother. Her compositions bring Azerbaijani folklore to life: Dede Gorgud, The Simurg Bird, The Tale of the Dwarf and the Giant.

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SEVIL MAMMADOVA

"Gurama is a hobby that has become a need."

Born in Baku in 1952, Sevil Mammadova trained as an architect and spent decades in urban planning research, work recognised with Azerbaijan's Tereggi (Progress) medal in 2012. In gurama she designs a deliberate project or sketch first, producing compositions closer to abstract graphic art. She now leads the Gurama Centre's craftswomen in Gala village.

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ZEMFIRA ALLAHVERDIYEVA

"Gurama is creativity, gurama is inspiration. This ancient art is very beautiful."

Born in Baku in 1954 and trained as an engineer at the Azerbaijan State Oil Academy, Zemfira Allahverdiyeva came to gurama later in life. Every piece is completed entirely by hand, with no machine stitching at any stage.