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Euronews
27-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Euronews
Bukhara Biennial: A ten-week exploration of food, art, craft and music
From 5 September to 20 November 2025, this UNESCO Creative City will host the inaugural Bukhara Biennial, a ten-week journey of contemporary art, communal rituals, and culinary storytelling. Titled 'Recipes for Broken Hearts', the Biennial transforms a city of legends into a living stage where grief, memory and joy are reimagined through food, music, poetry and craft. Curated by international art figure Diana Campbell and commissioned by Gayane Umerova, Chairperson of the Uzbekistan Art and Culture Development Foundation (ACDF), the Biennial features over 70 commissions created in Uzbekistan, activating centuries-old madrasas and caravanserais in ways Bukhara has never seen. 'Bukhara has shaped the world before: through knowledge, craft, and exchange,' says Umerova. 'This Biennial is a way of giving it the tools to do so again, through creativity and dialogue'. Not just an exhibition. A sensory ritual. Rather than opening with a red carpet or gallery wall, the Biennial begins with the aroma of fermentation. At Cafe Oshqozon, Buddhist monk and chef Jeong Kwan will prepare kimchi on the first day — only to unearth it again ten weeks later for a final meal, ripened by time and silence. It is a metaphor for the event itself. 'Recipes for Broken Hearts' explores how time, tradition, and care can heal. Every element – from food to sculpture, textiles to sound is part of a broader experiment in emotional repair. Diana Campbell, known for her work at the Dhaka Art Summit, calls it a 'multi-sensory feast rooted in Bukhara's spirit of hospitality and intellectual depth'. She adds, 'You don't just look at the art. You smell it, taste it, feel it in your hands and bones'. From salt and sugar to clay and code The artworks span disciplines and geographies. Egyptian-born food artist Laila Gohar conjures memories through Navat, a traditional sugar crystal made from saffron and grape juice. Colombian artist Delcy Morelos constructs a dome from earth, sand, and spices. Uzbek artist Oyjon Khayrullaeva, working with ceramicist Abdurauf Taxirov, builds mosaic organs - a stomach over the cafe entrance, lungs and hearts tucked across the city connecting venues as parts of one collective body. And then there's Subodh Gupta, who repurposes enamel dishes from traditional kitchens into a towering dome, inside which guests dine on dishes connecting India and Uzbekistan. 'It's about collapsing distance — between countries, between disciplines, between people,' he says. All works are made in Uzbekistan, many in collaboration with local artisans. 'This was non-negotiable,' says Umerova. 'We didn't want an art fair. We wanted something that speaks from here, even when it reaches the world'. At the centre of the Biennial is the House of Softness, a transformation of the 16th century Gavkushon Madrasa into a space for public programmes, children's workshops, and storytelling. Artist and architect Suchi Reddy has designed a protective canopy inspired by Uzbek ikat casting patterns of healing across the courtyard. Here, a three-day symposium titled 'The Craft of Mending' will bring together thinkers, historians and artists to explore repair as both a physical and political act. 'Erasure is a form of heartbreak,' says Aziza Izamova, an Uzbek scholar at Harvard leading the event. 'And so, to repair to remember - is an act of resistance'. Young curators from across Asia will also gather in Bukhara for a workshop on how to commission work that does not yet exist. It is a fitting lesson for a city reshaping its own future. Music, too, flows through the Biennial's veins. Each full moon will be marked by a ceremonial karnay ritual – the long Uzbek horn used in weddings to symbolically summon water to the desert. These performances, led by Himali Singh Soin and David Soin Tappeser, fuse local tradition with global environmental consciousness. Elsewhere, the Bukhara Philharmonic will collaborate with artists like Tarek Atoui, bringing together Arab and Central Asian musical traditions. Weekly street processions and spontaneous performances will animate the city with rhythm and memory. Food is not a side programme, it is the soul of the Biennial. From fermented rituals to nomadic grains, the meals are designed to explore loss, resilience and belonging. Uzbek chefs like Bahriddin Chustiy and Pavel Georganov will share dishes infused with memory, while guest chefs like Fatmata Binta from Sierra Leone and Zuri Camille de Souza from India will link Uzbek traditions to West African and Goan culinary heritage. The final week hosts the Rice Cultures Festival, featuring plov, paella, pulao and jollof rice cooked in the open air, surrounded by stories and songs. 'It's not about haute cuisine,' says Umerova. 'It's about how we gather, how we heal, how we remember - through food'. Why Bukhara? 'Bukhara is not a backdrop,' says Umerova. 'It is the protagonist'. For over two millennia, the city has been a center of spiritual, scientific and artistic exchange. Yet in the modern art world, it has remained peripheral, until now. The Biennial is part of a broader national strategy to reintegrate Uzbekistan into global cultural networks. With support from President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, the ACDF has launched restoration projects, museums, and creative platforms across the country and internationally including the Venice Biennale pavilion and the Expo 2025 in Osaka. 'This is not soft power,' Umerova insists. 'It's structural power. Culture creates jobs. It shapes futures. It builds identity that isn't reactive or nostalgic — but alive, generous, and forward-looking'. Bukhara is accessible by high-speed rail from Tashkent and Samarkand, with boutique hotels and guesthouses nestled among its UNESCO-listed architecture. The Biennial is entirely free and open to the public. Foreign visitors can expect immersive programming in Uzbek, Russian, and English, and a culinary scene where history is served with every dish. More information is available at and on Instagram at @
Yahoo
04-04-2025
- Yahoo
Why are artists, architects and ecologists meeting in Uzbekistan's Aral Sea Region?
Most visitors to Uzbekistan stick to the Silk Road tourist trail, exploring the mosques and madrasas of Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva, and perhaps the intriguing mix of Islamic and Soviet modernist architecture of the capital, Tashkent. Amid the remote, arid landscapes of northern Uzbekistan, however, artists, architects, ecologists, and activists are gathering in a city less frequented by international visitors. Nukus, the regional capital of Karakalpakstan, is playing host to the inaugural Aral Culture Summit: a potential springboard for sustainable transformation and cultural renewal in the Aral Sea region, once the fourth-largest lake in the world and now often seen as a tragic symbol of environmental neglect and its devastating consequences. Spearheaded by the Uzbekistan Art and Culture Development Foundation (ACDF), this summit will set the stage for a unique cross-disciplinary dialogue on how art, culture, design, and science can transform the region's future. The collapse of the Aral Sea is one of the largest man-made environmental disasters in history. During the 1960s, the Soviet Union diverted water from the Amu Darya and Syr Darya rivers for agricultural irrigation, drastically reducing the amount of water flowing into the Aral Sea. By the 1980s, the Sea had shrunk to less than half of its original size, and by 2007, much of the northeastern part had dried up completely. The results were devastating. Once abundant fish populations disappeared, biodiversity plummeted, and the local economy, which relied on the Sea, collapsed. The region's residents, particularly in the town of Moynaq, were left with the remnants of what was once a thriving fishing industry. Now, what remains is a vast, barren seabed, often whipped up by dust storms carrying salt and toxic chemicals. Rather than looking at this backdrop as purely a bleak cautionary tale, beyond redemption, the Aral Culture Summit offers an invitation to ask and discuss: Can we use the lessons of the past and harness culture and heritage to inspire change? For Gayane Umerova, Chairperson of the ACDF, culture and environment are fundamentally intertwined. 'For centuries Uzbekistan's rich heritage and traditions have been intrinsically linked to and informed by our environment,' she says. 'We believe the creative industries can have a role in helping us develop long-term, sustainable solutions that will protect the local ecology, unite the community, and drive innovation,' she adds, underlining how the summit seeks to embody this connection, uniting the creative industries with scientific and ecological expertise. With this connection in mind, from 5-6 April – hot on the heels of the Samarkand International Climate Forum on 4 April – Nukus will host a rich programme of panel discussions, networking forums, and cultural events. Artists, ecologists, and local businesses will collaborate to explore ways of revitalising Karakalpakstan, the region surrounding the Aral Sea, through sustainable practices, while a roster of cultural immersions – featuring food, music, and art – will allow visitors to connect deeply with the local heritage and traditions. What's more, this will take place in the world's largest (non-collapsible) yurt, in homage to the traditional dwellings of the region's nomadic peoples. In this setting, echoing the gathering of families around a hearth, conversations will explore salient questions for the region: using culture, architecture and heritage as catalysts for climate action; driving change through content; women's leadership; how art and tradition shape identity; and agriculture as culture. The roster of experts taking part includes international names from across art, design, architecture and ecology, such as Aric Chen, Artistic Director of Rotterdam's Nieuwe Instituut; Belgian landscape architect Bas Smets; founder and principal architect of waiwai, Wael Al Awar; Kazakhstani biodesigner Dana Molzhigit; and Natalia Idrisova, curator of Tajikistan's 'Polygon' Art Group. These international voices will be in conversation with key figures in the local community, whose agency is key in the area's regeneration. Among those taking part will be Karakalpak artist Saidbek Sabirbayev; theatre director Sultanbek Kallibekov; Aijamal Yusupova, director of the State Museum of History and Culture of the Republic of Karakalpakstan; and contemporary poet Kydirniyaz Babaniyazov. For Sabirbayev, bringing these voices together, and shining a spotlight on the region, is an important step. 'As an artist, I was born and raised in the Republic of Karakalpakstan, so the problem of the Aral Sea is our problem and my pain. The summit drew me because 70-80% of my works are related to the Aral Sea and Karakalpakstan… I hope that where there is attention, there will be results,' he explains. Crucially, the Aral Culture Summit does not seek to be 'just another conference'; rather, it is designed as an ongoing conversation, with fresh iterations every 18 months and a commitment to longstanding legacy. The first phase of the project will focus on the regeneration of Istiqlol Park, the future headquarters of the summit. This former amusement park, which is one of the only green spaces in the city, will be transformed into a community hub offering a range of environmentally conscious and culturally enriching experiences, serving as an example both of eco-responsible tourism and a model for other cities grappling with similar environmental challenges. The Aral Culture Summit is just one of numerous big cultural 'moments' for Uzbekistan in 2025. As well as participating in the World Expo Osaka and the Venice Biennale Architettura, the country will host its first ever biennial (the Bukhara Biennial) in September and, come November, the 43rd session of the UNESCO General Conference in Samarkand – an event that has not been held outside Paris in 40 years. It remains to be seen whether culture and ecology will unite to truly make a difference in the Aral Sea region, but one thing is certain: as Uzbekistan opens its doors to international audiences, it has staked its claim – and that of Karakalpakstan, specifically – to a place in the global cultural conversation. The inaugural runs in Nukus from 5-6 April 2025.
Euronews
04-04-2025
- Politics
- Euronews
Why are artists, architects and ecologists meeting in Uzbekistan's Aral Sea Region?
ADVERTISEMENT Most visitors to Uzbekistan stick to the Silk Road tourist trail, exploring the mosques and madrasas of Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva, and perhaps the intriguing mix of Islamic and Soviet modernist architecture of the capital, Tashkent. Amid the remote, arid landscapes of northern Uzbekistan, however, artists, architects, ecologists, and activists are gathering in a city less frequented by international visitors. Nukus, the regional capital of Karakalpakstan, is playing host to the inaugural Aral Culture Summit: a potential springboard for sustainable transformation and cultural renewal in the Aral Sea region, once the fourth-largest lake in the world and now often seen as a tragic symbol of environmental neglect and its devastating consequences. Spearheaded by the Uzbekistan Art and Culture Development Foundation (ACDF), this summit will set the stage for a unique cross-disciplinary dialogue on how art, culture, design, and science can transform the region's future. Satellite Imagery of Aral Sea (2000-2018). Picture Courtesy of Uzbekistan Art And Culture Foundation. The Aral Sea crisis The collapse of the Aral Sea is one of the largest man-made environmental disasters in history. During the 1960s, the Soviet Union diverted water from the Amu Darya and Syr Darya rivers for agricultural irrigation, drastically reducing the amount of water flowing into the Aral Sea. By the 1980s, the Sea had shrunk to less than half of its original size, and by 2007, much of the northeastern part had dried up completely. The results were devastating. Once abundant fish populations disappeared, biodiversity plummeted, and the local economy, which relied on the Sea, collapsed. The region's residents, particularly in the town of Moynaq, were left with the remnants of what was once a thriving fishing industry. Now, what remains is a vast, barren seabed, often whipped up by dust storms carrying salt and toxic chemicals. Sudochye Lake Aral Sea Basin. Courtesy of Uzbekistan Art and Culture Development Foundation. Fishing communities have been left in economic crisis. Courtesy of Iwan Baan and Uzbekistan Art and Culture Development Foundation. All rights reserved. Uniting science and culture Rather than looking at this backdrop as purely a bleak cautionary tale, beyond redemption, the Aral Culture Summit offers an invitation to ask and discuss: Can we use the lessons of the past and harness culture and heritage to inspire change? For Gayane Umerova, Chairperson of the ACDF, culture and environment are fundamentally intertwined. 'For centuries Uzbekistan's rich heritage and traditions have been intrinsically linked to and informed by our environment,' she says. 'We believe the creative industries can have a role in helping us develop long-term, sustainable solutions that will protect the local ecology, unite the community, and drive innovation,' she adds, underlining how the summit seeks to embody this connection, uniting the creative industries with scientific and ecological expertise. With this connection in mind, from 5-6 April – hot on the heels of the Samarkand International Climate Forum on 4 April – Nukus will host a rich programme of panel discussions, networking forums, and cultural events. Artists, ecologists, and local businesses will collaborate to explore ways of revitalising Karakalpakstan, the region surrounding the Aral Sea, through sustainable practices, while a roster of cultural immersions – featuring food, music, and art – will allow visitors to connect deeply with the local heritage and traditions. What's more, this will take place in the world's largest (non-collapsible) yurt, in homage to the traditional dwellings of the region's nomadic peoples. In this setting, echoing the gathering of families around a hearth, conversations will explore salient questions for the region: using culture, architecture and heritage as catalysts for climate action; driving change through content; women's leadership; how art and tradition shape identity; and agriculture as culture. Image: The Aral Culture Summit will take place in the world's biggest non-collapsible yurt. Image: Uzbekistan Tourism/X Image: An archival image of a traditional yurt. Image: Courtesy of ARC Architects. International expertise, local roots The roster of experts taking part includes international names from across art, design, architecture and ecology, such as Aric Chen, Artistic Director of Rotterdam's Nieuwe Instituut; Belgian landscape architect Bas Smets; founder and principal architect of waiwai, Wael Al Awar; Kazakhstani biodesigner Dana Molzhigit; and Natalia Idrisova, curator of Tajikistan's 'Polygon' Art Group. ADVERTISEMENT These international voices will be in conversation with key figures in the local community, whose agency is key in the area's regeneration. Among those taking part will be Karakalpak artist Saidbek Sabirbayev; theatre director Sultanbek Kallibekov; Aijamal Yusupova, director of the State Museum of History and Culture of the Republic of Karakalpakstan; and contemporary poet Kydirniyaz Babaniyazov. For Sabirbayev, bringing these voices together, and shining a spotlight on the region, is an important step. 'As an artist, I was born and raised in the Republic of Karakalpakstan, so the problem of the Aral Sea is our problem and my pain. The summit drew me because 70-80% of my works are related to the Aral Sea and Karakalpakstan… I hope that where there is attention, there will be results,' he explains. Crucially, the Aral Culture Summit does not seek to be 'just another conference'; rather, it is designed as an ongoing conversation, with fresh iterations every 18 months and a commitment to longstanding legacy. ADVERTISEMENT The first phase of the project will focus on the regeneration of Istiqlol Park, the future headquarters of the summit. This former amusement park, which is one of the only green spaces in the city, will be transformed into a community hub offering a range of environmentally conscious and culturally enriching experiences, serving as an example both of eco-responsible tourism and a model for other cities grappling with similar environmental challenges. Park Istiqlol, Nukus, to be developed as part of the Aral Culture Summit. Photo courtesy of Iwan Baan and ACDF, all rights reserved Suzani craft. Aral Culture Summit 2025. Picture Courtesy of Uzbekistan Art And Culture Foundation. 2025, a milestone year The Aral Culture Summit is just one of numerous big cultural 'moments' for Uzbekistan in 2025. As well as participating in the World Expo Osaka and the Venice Biennale Architettura, the country will host its first ever biennial (the Bukhara Biennial) in September and, come November, the 43rd session of the UNESCO General Conference in Samarkand – an event that has not been held outside Paris in 40 years. It remains to be seen whether culture and ecology will unite to truly make a difference in the Aral Sea region, but one thing is certain: as Uzbekistan opens its doors to international audiences, it has staked its claim – and that of Karakalpakstan, specifically – to a place in the global cultural conversation. The Aral Sea Basin. Courtesy of Uzbekistan Art and Culture Development Foundation. The inaugural Aral Culture Summit runs in Nukus from 5-6 April 2025. ADVERTISEMENT
New York Times
21-03-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Finding This Party Was Half the Fun
This fall, the ancient Central Asian city of Bukhara, which for centuries was a stop on the Silk Road — the 4,000-mile trade route along which goods and ideas spread across the continent — will once again become a vibrant hub of cultural exchange. For 10 weeks, starting on Sept. 5, the Uzbek city will host its first art biennial, an event that will bring together a mix of international artists — including the British sculptor Antony Gormley and the Colombian multidisciplinary artist Delcy Morelos — and Uzbek ones, such as the ceramics master Abdulvahid Bukhoriy Karimov, for site-specific exhibitions, workshops and feasts. Commissioned by the Uzbekistan Art and Culture Development Foundation, the Bukhara Biennial is being overseen by the American curator Diana Campbell, 41. Among the local makers she's invited to participate is the Korean Uzbek designer Jenia Kim, 33, whose 11-year-old clothing and accessories brand, is known for its garments featuring knotted flower-shaped cutouts. (Malia Obama and the Spanish pop star Rosalía have both worn pieces.) 'If you tie a square of fabric around something, the space around the knot forms petal shapes,' Kim explained recently in front of her new boutique in the Chorsu Bazaar, the oldest market in Tashkent, Uzbekistan's capital. She calls these details tugun — the word translates to 'bundle' in English — because they were inspired by the fabric parcels Uzbeks often use to transport their belongings. They also reference the long journey west that her grandparents made in the 1930s, when they were among the 172,000 Soviet Koreans forced to resettle in then-unpopulated areas of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. Kim is a designer 'who thinks like an artist,' Campbell said, adding that she was drawn to the way Kim's pieces reflect the history of Korean migrants in Uzbekistan. Earlier this month, the two women teamed up to host a gathering at Kim's store in honor of both the upcoming biennial in Bukhara, roughly 350 miles northeast of Tashkent, and Nowruz, or Persian New Year, which is widely celebrated in Uzbekistan around the spring equinox. Kim sent each guest a Google Maps pin to help them find the boutique, which is tucked among stalls selling everything from vegetables to sneakers. After everyone had explored the space and caught up over food outside, she gave each guest a small drawstring pouch and led the group into the bazaar's massive domed main building. On the second floor, they stopped at the stall of the merchant Shamshakul Azizov, where he filled the bags with spices for the visitors to take home. The attendees: Among the group of 12 people was one surprise guest: the Korean Zen Buddhist nun and chef Jeong Kwan, 68, who gained wide acclaim in 2017 when she appeared in the Netflix documentary series 'Chef's Table.' Campbell had invited Kwan to Uzbekistan to create a project for the biennial and the next day the chef was heading to Bukhara for a site visit, along with three other party guests: the Korean artist and curator Oh Kyung Soon, 51; the Korean Uzbek multidisciplinary artist Daria Kim, 26; and the Uzbek video artist Gulnoza Irgasheva, 27. Also present was the architect Wael Al Awar, 47, of the Dubai- and Tokyo-based Waiwai studio, who is overseeing the biennial's architecture. The event is inspiring 'the restoration of dozens of Bukhara's most important historic buildings, its mosques, madrassas [Islamic schools] and caravansaries [roadside inns],' he said. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
