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Ola Fiedorczuk

Journalist and Social Media Manager

Ola Fiedorczuk is a freelance journalist, radio personality, presenter, podcaster, musicologist, and social media manager.

Articles

Art and Culture

Central Asia Steps Out of the Post-Soviet Shadow

Central Asia is rarely presented on its own terms. It is more often viewed through exterior lenses like Russian imperial memory, Chinese reach, Silk Road romance, or great-power rivalry. The result is a region made to look secondary to the forces around it, even as its five countries carry deep histories, distinct languages, and identities that cannot be reduced to a backdrop. That old frame is starting to crack. Central Asia is finding new ways to tell its own story. The shift goes beyond tourism or national branding. It is about who gets to define the region, which is still too often seen through the things done to it or extracted from it. Culture depicts the other side of that narrative, a place that has shaped history, not merely endured it, with traditions and ideas that have long carried influence far beyond its borders. [caption id="attachment_49147" align="aligncenter" width="2048"] Sky above Almaty: Qandy Qantar; image courtesy of Saule Suleimenova[/caption] Kazakhstan offers one visible example. The Almaty Museum of Arts opened on September 12, 2025, adding a major institution for modern and contemporary art. Its arrival builds on a broader shift in which private galleries, international platforms, and artists such as Aigerim Karibayeva and Saule Suleimenova are moving Kazakh art beyond folkloric shorthand toward identity, postcolonial memory, and urban life. The reopening of the Tselinny Center of Contemporary Culture, in a former Soviet-era cinema, adds a sharper symbolic layer. A building once tied to Soviet public culture has become a platform for modern Central Asian voices, reflecting a scene increasingly rethinking nomadism rather than simply reproducing it. [caption id="attachment_49148" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Image: The Tselinny Center of Contemporary Culture[/caption] Uzbekistan has made culture central to its international reemergence. The inaugural Bukhara Biennial brought contemporary art into a city more often seen through its monuments, turning madrasas and caravanserais into exhibition spaces for Uzbek and world artists. The same push is visible in the Tashkent Centre for Contemporary Art, Uzbekistan’s presence at the Venice Architecture Biennale, and design projects such as When Apricots Blossom, which link heritage, craft, and the environmental disaster of the Aral Sea. Artists such as Oyjon Khayrullaeva show a younger generation reworking Islamic ornament, textiles, and public space into new visual languages. At the same time, the State Museum of Karakalpakstan in Nukus, with its Soviet-era censored works, gives the country’s art history deeper heft. In Tashkent, the Islamic Civilization Center is working on a different scale. Recognized by Guinness World Records in 2026 as the largest museum of Islamic civilization, it gives Uzbekistan a stronger role in shaping how that legacy is understood today. [caption id="attachment_49146" align="aligncenter" width="2048"] Image courtesy of Oyjon Khayrullaeva[/caption] Kyrgyzstan’s confidence rests on different ground. The sixth World Nomad Games are scheduled for August 31 to September 6, 2026, with events in Bishkek and around Issyk-Kul. That gives Kyrgyzstan a stage for living nomadic traditions, not a static museum display of them. Its contemporary art scene adds a more intimate layer, with artists such as...

3 weeks ago

Silk Road

Silver, Silk, and Forgotten Power: Central Asia’s Islamic Past Comes to London

At Sotheby’s in London, Central Asia comes into view as a world of dazzling craft and taste. The Arts of the Islamic World & India auction on April 29th gathers rare eastern Islamic works that show how the region turned faith, power, and luxury into art. The standout lot is a 12th or 13th-century silver ewer, catalogued as Persian or Central Asian. Most related vessels are brass or bronze. This one is comparable to vessels from the Harari Hoard, a group of 10th and 11th-century silver objects now largely held in the L.A. Mayer Museum for Islamic Art in Jerusalem. The ewer’s presence gives the sale its sharpest point of entry. It is rare, ambitious, and unusually personal. [caption id="attachment_47817" align="aligncenter" width="2447"] A pair of Seljuk gold bracelets, Persia, Khurasan, 12th century; image: Sotheby's[/caption] A 10th-century Nishapur calligraphic dish shifts the focus from metal to script, turning a simple object into a work shaped by the visual grace of the written word. Timurid horse trappings, Qur’an pages, Sogdian silks, golden Mongol cloths, an embroidered robe, and a Shakhrisabz suzani broaden the picture from courtly power to sacred text and textile brilliance, ending in a tradition still closely associated with Uzbekistan. The timing gives the auction added weight. Uzbekistan is building a major new stage for Islamic heritage. The Times of Central Asia reported in April 2026 that its Center of Islamic Civilization has entered the Guinness World Records as the world’s largest museum. TCA asked Frankie Keyworth, a Specialist in Islamic and Indian Art at Sotheby’s, why Central Asia’s artistic legacy is commanding fresh attention now. [caption id="attachment_47818" align="aligncenter" width="8984"] A turquoise-set silver and brass belt buckle, Bukhara, Central Asia, 19th century; image: Sotheby's[/caption] TCA: Why are the artifacts in this auction so important for understanding Central Asia as a center of artistic production, rather than just a corridor between other civilizations? Keyworth: They really reiterate the breadth of artistic production in Central Asia, which is incredibly rich in terms of medium, design and chronology. The works presented here range from the 8th to the 19th century, from textiles to ceramics, metalwork to manuscripts, and they reveal traditions that are distinct to Central Asia, and others that inform and are informed by artistic production in other regions. The impressive silver ewer is a good example of this. Its nielloed decoration on silver is typical of a distinct group of silver vessels produced in Central Asia, but its form would go on to inform examples in other materials, such as bronze or ceramics produced later in Persia. [caption id="attachment_47819" align="aligncenter" width="2560"] A Timurid or early Ottoman tinned copper goblet (mashrabe), Central Asia or Eastern Anatolia, late 15th century; image: Sotheby's[/caption] TCA: Which object best captures Central Asia’s wider historical importance, and what makes it so revealing? Keyworth: It’s hard to pinpoint such a vast artistic tradition to one object, but luxurious textile production is synonymous with the arts of Central Asia. In this sale, we can see one of the earliest...

1 month ago

World Nomad Games

Horses, Eagles, and Fire: The Steppe Awakens as the 2026 World Nomad Games Return to Kyrgyzstan

On the shores of Lake Issyk-Kul, where mountains drop sharply into the water, and horses and cars are found in almost equal measure, Kyrgyzstan will host the World Nomad Games 2026 from August 31 to September 6, with The Times of Central Asia reporting from the ground. Since their launch in 2014, the Games have grown well beyond their origins, drawing competitors and audiences from across the world. This year’s emblem, the snow leopard, captures that idea with unusual precision. It has been adopted as the national symbol of Kyrgyzstan in recent years and has long been central to the country’s conservation diplomacy, including its role in establishing October 23 as International Snow Leopard Day. Presented as a representation of strength, clarity, and endurance, it reflects both the terrain and the mindset that fortifies the event. [caption id="attachment_46882" align="aligncenter" width="1280"] Image: International Secretariat of the World Nomad Games[/caption] The Games have expanded beyond the region, but are now returning home again. Kyrgyzstan hosted the first three editions before they went to Turkey in 2022 and Kazakhstan in 2024. Their homecoming now carries greater international weight, reinforced by UNESCO’s support, recognizing their role in preserving intangible cultural heritage. This year’s experience is mostly set in the Issyk-Kul region, around three hours from Bishkek, where the mountainous landscape will form the backdrop to the lakeside venues. The opening and closing ceremonies are scheduled to take place in the capital’s Bishkek Arena. In Cholpon Ata, the hippodrome will host horse racing and Kok Boru, while the nearby sports complex stages wrestling competitions. The Rukh Ordo Cultural Center brings together strength events and traditional tournaments alongside parts of the cultural program. In Kyrchyn, the Ethno Village will become the core of the experience, where archery, falconry, crafts, performances, and food sit within a setting that reflects nomadic life. [caption id="attachment_46886" align="aligncenter" width="2560"] Kok Boru at the Bishkek Hippodrome, 2014; image: Stephen M. Bland[/caption] Forty-plus sports disciplines will be spread across competitive and demonstrative formats, with more than 100 medals at stake. Kok Boru is fast and unforgiving, played on horseback as riders grapple over what was traditionally a headless goat carcass (now a synthetic dummy or serke), surging and colliding before hurling it into the opponent’s goal. [caption id="attachment_46885" align="aligncenter" width="1280"] Image: International Secretariat of the World Nomad Games[/caption] Horseback archery demands precision under movement, with riders standing in the stirrups or twisting at full gallop to fire arrows at distant targets. Eagle hunting illustrates a partnership between human and bird refined over generations, as trained golden eagles launch from the arm to track and strike prey across open ground. [caption id="attachment_46887" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] Woman with a bird of prey, World Nomad Games, Astana, 2024; image: Stephen M. Bland[/caption] Wrestling styles such as Alysh and Kurash emphasize balance and control rather than brute force, with fighters gripping belts and using timing, leverage, and footwork to unbalance their opponent. The Times of Central Asia spoke with the International Secretariat of the World Nomad Games to...

2 months ago

Book Launch

The USSR Is Gone, the Story Isn’t: Joe Luc Barnes On the Road Across the Former Soviet Union

On a foggy but mild London evening, The Times of Central Asia joined journalist and contributor Joe Luc Barnes to celebrate the launch of his new book, Farewell to Russia: A Journey Through the Former USSR. As the wine flowed, the conversation ranged from Silk Road cities to Soviet ghosts. It was exactly the sort of evening you might expect from a book that explores one of the world’s most complex regions with both political sharpness and a healthy sense of humor. Barnes’ book begins with a deceptively simple question: What actually happened to the fifteen countries that emerged following the Soviet Union’s collapse in 1991? The clichés are familiar: snow, concrete, and the KGB. Nevertheless, Barnes’ depiction reveals that the real story is stranger, funnier, and far more human. In the years since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, he has crossed the former Soviet states from Estonia’s tech hubs to Uzbekistan’s minarets and Azerbaijan’s flame towers, gathering stories from taxi drivers, activists, nomads, and anyone willing to converse over a drink. The result is part travelogue and part political detective story, with a strong dose of dark comedy about life after empire. Barnes moves easily between epic scenery and the absurdities of everyday life. Georgian wine and Armenian brandy make an appearance alongside Silk Road bazaars, smoky bars, and long railway excursions. At times there is also the lingering suspicion that someone, somewhere, is still listening. It is a portrait of a region that the West often reduces to geopolitics but which, as Barnes shows, is full of resilience, generosity, and a distinctly post-Soviet sense of humor. [caption id="attachment_45000" align="aligncenter" width="1600"] Image: TCA[/caption] Barnes is well placed to tell the story, as a journalist who has spent more than a decade working across China and the former Soviet space. Since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, he has visited all fifteen former Soviet republics, a journey that has taken him from former gulag sites in Kazakhstan to Tajikistan’s notorious Anzob Tunnel and through the shifting political landscape of the region. The book was released on March 5, a date heavy with Cold War symbolism. It marks the anniversary of Joseph Stalin’s death in 1953 and Winston Churchill’s Iron Curtain speech in 1946. With 2026 also marking thirty-five years since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Barnes’ journey arrives at a moment when questions about territory, independence, and Russia’s continuing influence feel newly urgent. Farewell to Russia: A Journey Through the Former USSR by Joe Luc Barnes is available now in hardback, audiobook, and ebook.

3 months ago

Politics of Language

The Language Nobody Wants to Speak About: Russian’s Uneasy Place in Central Asia’s Cultural Conversation

Rhetoric in segments of the Russian media has sharpened debates over sovereignty and influence across Central Asia, pushing these concerns beyond policy circles and into everyday conversations. The region is reassessing not only pipelines and alliances, but language itself. In politics, this shift is visible and symbolic. In culture, it is more difficult to discern. The Russian language still shapes how Central Asian art is funded, circulated, and institutionally processed, even as institutions distance themselves from Moscow’s influence. This contradiction sits at the heart of contemporary cultural life in the region. Artists produce work rooted in Kazakh, Uzbek, Kyrgyz, Tajik, or Turkmen histories. They title exhibitions in local languages. They speak passionately about decolonial futures and cultural sovereignty. But when the catalogue is written, the grant application submitted, or the curatorial text sent abroad, the language quietly shifts. First to Russian, sometimes to English, and only occasionally does it remain in the local language. This is not nostalgia, but a structural inheritance. Russian remains the shared professional language of much of the urban cultural sector. Edward Lemon, President of the Oxus Society for Central Asian Affairs, argues that the language’s endurance reflects both ideology and pragmatism. “While local languages have become much more widespread as the Central Asian republics have strengthened their nationhood and as there has been an increase in anti-Russian sentiments since the invasion of Ukraine, Russian language use remains widespread,” Lemon told TCA. “Despite the ideological imperative to reduce reliance on Russian, there are some pragmatic reasons why it remains prominent. High levels of migration to Russia, particularly from Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan, mean that a basic competence in the language is essential to survival for many Central Asians. Russian remains a language of interethnic communication, particularly in Kazakhstan, where ethnic Russians, for the most part, are reluctant to speak Kazakh. While English has become more widespread and some of the Central Asian languages are mutually intelligible, Russian retains a status as a diplomatic, business, and civil society language for those working in multiple countries. Russia also remains a language of education. Over 200,000 Central Asians study in Russia, by far the largest destination in the world. Russian-language schools remain prominent at every level in Central Asia, from kindergarten to graduate schools. In short, while the usage of Russian is in slow decline, its position is relatively entrenched.” For cultural institutions, this reality means that distancing from Moscow politically does not automatically sever the linguistic infrastructure through which grants are written, exhibitions travel, and contracts are signed. Naima Morelli, an arts writer focused on contemporary art across Asia-Pacific and the Middle East, argues that the issue is less about elimination than coexistence. “For me, it makes sense that Russian continues to function as a practical operating language across Central Asia’s cultural infrastructure, as an inherited connective tissue of sorts. In the hypothesis of getting rid of it, the most obvious alternative for a shared language for exchanges across countries in Central Asia is English, which the global...

4 months ago

Kazakh Art

Beyond the Yurt: Rethinking Nomadism in Kazakh Contemporary Art

At a moment when Kazakhstan is building new cultural institutions and asking bigger questions about what contemporary art should do, one curator has been quietly learning how power, taste, and narrative are shaped inside major museums. Akmaral Kulbatyrova, the first representative of Kazakhstan to receive the U.S.-based ArtTable Fellowship, spent 2025 working in the Exhibitions and Curatorial Projects Department at The Bass Museum of Art in Miami Beach, gaining rare inside access to how global exhibitions are conceived and positioned. Her work sits at the intersection of institutional practice and cultural repair, focused on reframing nomadic culture, Central Asian heritage, and Kazakh craft not as static tradition but as a current language. Akmaral’s experience links ambition and execution, showing how local histories can enter international spaces without being flattened. In this interview with The Times of Central Asia, we asked her what comes next. TCA: Nomadic imagery has become central to Kazakhstan’s national identity since independence. How are contemporary artists reshaping these symbols, and why does that matter for how the country sees itself today? AK: Kazakh contemporary artists briefly challenged Kazakh art in early avant-garde experiments in the 1960s. However, it stopped because of the huge presence of Socialist Realism, which was one of the movements where symbols like horses and yurts prevailed. Most of the contemporary artists reshape not the symbols; they reimagine nomadic culture, contextualizing pre-Soviet culture through researching how it changed over time. Many artists look back to pre-Soviet nomadic practices to explore how these traditions were disrupted by colonial and Soviet policies, yet continue to influence Kazakh identity today. By using installation, performance, and video, they move beyond decoration and folklore to show nomadism as a living culture rather than a museum image or symbols. This matters because it helps Kazakhstan see itself not through simplified national symbols, but as a society shaped by change, cultural mixing, and an ongoing negotiation between past and present. [caption id="attachment_42899" align="aligncenter" width="1536"] Qyz Zhibek, designed by Nikolai Vladimirovich Tsivchinsky and Moldakhmet Syzdykovich Kenbaev, 1971; image: TCA[/caption] TCA: Nomadism now circulates widely in pop culture, often detached from its historical meaning. Why does contemporary art provide a more critical way to examine what nomadic identity represents? AK: It’s typical that symbolic images prevail in pop culture, especially for countries that have not experienced a long artistic tradition. It is one of the ways to be acknowledged by the privileged cultures through the symbols that are easy to recognize and quickly signal national identity. In Kazakhstan, these images became important after independence, as they cover the main question of cultural uniqueness after colonial influence. Contemporary art takes slower and more contextual approaches rather than easy recognition. That’s why most modern scholars criticize symbolic language and would like to see art that explores unresolved histories and how nations were challenged or used their experience to construct their identity. [caption id="attachment_42900" align="aligncenter" width="750"] Anvar Musrepov, IKEA KZ; image courtesy of the Aspan Gallery[/caption] TCA: Many artists use nomadic motifs with irony rather...

4 months ago

TCA Interviews

La Tregua: A Bridge Across Wars and Worlds – An Interview with Director Miguel Ángel Vivas

In the misty green heart of Bizkaia, where mountains rise like ancient sentinels and the air carries the scent of rain and earth, a remarkable filmmaking journey unfurled. This is where director Miguel Ángel Vivas Moreno, known for Money Heist (La Casa de Papel), Cicatriz, Desaparecidos, and Secuestrados, reconstructed one of the most haunting landscapes of the twentieth century: a Soviet gulag on the distant Kazakh steppe. His new film, La Tregua (The Truce), invites viewers into a story based on actual events that unfolded far from Spain, but holds deep ties to its history. It traces the ordeal of Spanish prisoners during World War II who fell into Soviet hands and were compelled to endure the harsh, frozen conditions of a labor camp. Their struggle becomes a bridge between past and present, between countries and cultures, and between two men who must learn to recognize each other beyond the uniforms that once made them enemies. [caption id="attachment_40358" align="aligncenter" width="2560"] All images courtesy of the production[/caption] The project is an unprecedented Spanish-Kazakh co-production from Spassk 99, AIE, Amanat Capital, LTD, and Umaifilm, LLP. This partnership gives the film a reach that feels genuinely cross-continental. It is a motion picture passport that opens a window onto a forgotten corner of global history. At the center of the story are Miguel Herrán and Arón Piper, who step into the roles of Reyes and Salgado. The characters appear as ideological enemies; having fought on opposing sides during the Spanish Civil War, both carry heavy psychological baggage. Inside the camp, their former certainties fall away. What begins as uneasy coexistence becomes an inward journey shaped by hunger, fear, and the starkness of their new reality. Executive producer César Benítez recalls searching for two actors capable of expressing both the physical exhaustion of imprisonment and the spark of hope that keeps a person standing. He says that the moment he saw Miguel and Arón together, he recognized that rare blend of fragility and fire. Miguel Ángel Vivas talked to TCA to break down the challenges and highlights behind the production. [caption id="attachment_40356" align="aligncenter" width="2560"] All images courtesy of the production[/caption] TCA: The story is fictional, but it is based on real events in Kazakhstan. Can you explain the historical context and how it inspired La Tregua? Miguel: The story begins with a documentary about Spaniards in the Soviet gulags. That’s where we discovered that republicans and fascists shared the same prison two years after the Spanish Civil War ended. It struck us as a fascinating starting point for a human story about the relationships that formed between them. [caption id="attachment_40357" align="aligncenter" width="2560"] All images courtesy of the production[/caption] TCA: The premise is intriguing: how two fighters on opposite sides of the Spanish Civil War end up in a gulag in Kazakhstan. In an increasingly polarized world, is there a lesson in the film to help heal the wounds that divide Spain, or even the world in general? Miguel: That was the idea! In such a...

6 months ago

Silk Road

The Artistic Brilliance of Central Asia Takes Center Stage at Sotheby’s

On October 29, Sotheby’s will host its Arts of the Islamic World and India sale, featuring a dazzling selection of manuscripts, ceramics, metalwork, and jewelry that together trace the creative reach of Central Asia across six centuries. The auction highlights how the region’s artists shaped Islamic visual culture from the early medieval period to the Timurid age. Among the most important works is a rare page from the monumental Baysunghur Qur’an, produced around 1400 in Herat or Samarkand. Another piece connects to the earlier Samanid Dynasty, whose rule from Bukhara and Tashkent fostered a flourishing of calligraphic pottery in the ninth and tenth centuries. The Arab geographer al-Maqdisi once praised the “large bowls from Shash,” an early name for Tashkent, noting their reputation throughout the Islamic world. [caption id="attachment_38298" align="aligncenter" width="1797"] A line from the 'Baysunghur Qur'an', attributed to 'Umar al-Aqta, Herat or Samarkand, circa 1400; image: Sotheby's[/caption] Two colorful Timurid mosaic tiles from the fourteenth or fifteenth century illustrate the architectural splendor of Samarkand and Herat. Their glazed patterns in cobalt, turquoise, and white once formed part of vast decorative panels in mosques and mausoleums. The geometric interlace and stylized foliage that define them became a visual signature of Timurid architecture, a style that spread from Central Asia to Persia and India. [caption id="attachment_38301" align="aligncenter" width="1346"] A Golden Horde turquoise and pearl-set gold belt or necklace, Pontic-Caspian Steppe, 14th century; image: Sotheby's[/caption] The Times of Central Asia spoke with Frankie Keyworth, a specialist in Islamic and Indian Art at Sotheby’s, for a closer look. TCA: How did manuscripts like the Baysunghur Qur’an serve as symbols of power and faith in the Timurid court, and what does its immense scale - a Qur’an so vast it took two people to turn a page - reveal about the empire’s ambition, artistry, and self-image? Keyworth: The manuscript was a hugely ambitious and challenging project, even just by the tools it would take to create, with monumental sheets of paper measuring 177 by 101cm., and a large pen whose nib would have to measure over 1cm. Displayed on a magnificent marble stand, the manuscript would be a staggering visual representation of the patron’s wealth and piety. Their subsequent use during public recitation reinforced the elite’s religious aspirations. The fact that this manuscript is unsurpassed by any other medieval Qur’an and remains so valued centuries after it was produced at the turn of the 15th century reveals the key role manuscripts played in the establishment of the Timurid dynastic image. [caption id="attachment_38299" align="aligncenter" width="1346"] A Timurid brass jug (mashrabe), Herat, Afghanistan, 15th-early 16th century; image: Sotheby's[/caption] TCA: A brass jug from Herat shaped like a Chinese vase, a ceramic bowl from Tashkent inscribed in Arabic script - these objects tell of traders, scholars, and artists linking worlds from Samarkand to Beijing long before globalization had a name. What can you tell us about how this trade transpired, and are there similarities to modern transport corridors? Keyworth: Trade via the so-called Silk Road endured for...

8 months ago

Food

In The Kitchen: A Reflection of Taste and Art, Savoring the Color of Flavor

In the culinary world, all eyes have turned towards Almaty, as the city becomes the stage for In the Kitchen: Anniversary Edition, an international project uniting haute cuisine and contemporary art. This year’s edition centers on Austrian conceptual artist Norbert Brunner-Lienz, whose work explores how language and reflection shape perception, turning words and images into immersive experiences. At Laureate Grand Café, his installation has become the heart of a three-night gastro-performance. Mirrored surfaces invite guests to see themselves within the art, blurring the line between viewer and participant. Each reflection reveals the unseen link between seeing and being seen, transforming perception into part of the artwork. Light and meaning shift with every glance. [caption id="attachment_38089" align="alignnone" width="1600"] Image: Ilyas Otan[/caption] Brunner, who lives and works between Vienna and New York, is personally presenting the project in Almaty, with guests having the opportunity to meet him, learn about his creative philosophy, and experience how his art connects the visual, linguistic, and culinary worlds. The gastronomic performance is led by Michelin-starred twin chefs Dominik Sato and Fabio Toffolon from The Chedi Andermatt in Switzerland. Inspired by the Japanese concept of ichi-go ichi-e, the art of treasuring each unrepeatable moment, their menu transforms dining into a multisensory journey. Completing the team is Yoshiko Sato, pastry chef at The Japanese (two MICHELIN stars), celebrated for desserts that balance technical mastery with grace and feeling. [caption id="attachment_38090" align="aligncenter" width="1600"] Image: Ilyas Otan[/caption] Education plays a key role in this edition. Students from Almaty Technological University (ATU) will attend free masterclasses with the Michelin-starred chefs. Workshops are being held at both the Laureate Grand Café and ATU, giving young chefs direct access to the world of haute cuisine. Among the special guests are Giliola Masseroni, owner of Gioielleria Maison “Giglio” in Cremona, Italy; Olga Daniele, founder of 365 ART in Switzerland; and Ainur Akhmetova, founder of Laureate Grand Café and co-founder of In the Kitchen. Olga Daniele imagined In the Kitchen as a dialogue between art and gastronomy, where creative thought is served alongside taste and texture. In collaboration with Ainur Akhmetova, she brings this vision to Kazakhstan, weaving together good food with art to create an experience that speaks to all the senses. [caption id="attachment_38091" align="aligncenter" width="1600"] Image: Ilyas Otan[/caption] Their partnership rethinks how we encounter art and eating: not as separate disciplines, but as intertwined forms of expression that reveal how creation lives in every brush stroke, flavour, and idea. A forthcoming book of culinary art will capture this collaboration, inviting readers to engage with these themes further. In the Kitchen: Anniversary Edition unfolds as a shared act of creation, where food becomes a language and creativity takes shape in the exchange between those who make and those who taste. The event will be held at the Laureate Grand Café, 85 Bogenbai Batyr St., Almaty, from October 23–25, 2025.

8 months ago

Osaka Expo 2025

Uzbekistan’s Garden Blossoms at the Osaka Expo

At Osaka Expo 2025, Uzbekistan is stepping onto the global stage with a pavilion that embodies the country’s theme: culture as the foundation of future societies. Created by the Uzbekistan Art and Culture Development Foundation (ACDF), the space celebrates heritage as both a legacy and a launchpad to connect communities, bridge generations, and spark global conversations. ACDF is no stranger to ambitious cultural projects. In Tashkent, it has staged the World Conference on Creative Economy, created the first Aral Culture Summit in Nukus, and is behind the renovation of the Centre for Contemporary Art. The Foundation is also working with star architect Tadao Ando on the design of a new National Museum and restoring the storied Palace of the Grand Duke of Romanov. Its research project, Tashkent Modernism XX/XXI, has already caught international attention with publications from Rizzoli New York and Lars Müller Publishers. [video width="1280" height="720" mp4="https://timesca.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/IMG_6020-online-video-cutter.com_.mp4"][/video] Recently, ACDF has been igniting fresh cultural currents. In Bukhara, the UNESCO-listed jewel of the Silk Road, the debut of the first-ever Biennial, Recipes for Broken Hearts, has transformed the ancient city into a vibrant stage for contemporary creativity. As we approached the pavilion, the queue was already packed and closed off to latecomers still straggling in. Before entry, a guide explained in Japanese the concepts in motion. Designed by internationally acclaimed ATELIER BRUCKNER, the installation unfolds under the theme Garden of Knowledge: A Laboratory for a Future Society, inspired by Uzbekistan’s fertile soil and fragrant gardens where wisdom and originality take root. Built with materials sourced in Japan, the structure features 10,000 hand-glazed bricks crafted by a master artisan from Uzbekistan. Its design has already earned international acclaim, winning the prestigious Red Dot: Best of the Best, and taking home gold at the German Design Award. Inspired by Khiva and the Khorezm region’s rich architectural and intellectual legacy, it’s a two-storey 750 square meter space that blends the ancient with forward-thinking design, mirroring the life cycle of a garden. Khiva, a UNESCO World Heritage city, has long been a crossroads of learning where scholars, artisans, and merchants exchanged ideas within its madrasahs and courtyards. It reimagines this heritage as a contemporary space for gathering and exchange. [caption id="attachment_36099" align="aligncenter" width="2560"] Exhibit: transport of the future; image: TCA, Stephen M. Bland[/caption] Brick and clay symbolize earth and ancestry, while cypress wood cultivated near Osaka underscores environmental responsibility. The triangular plot draws from the tumar, a traditional Central Asian amulet of protection, while a floor-level garden evokes Uzbekistan’s landscapes. Visitors follow a symbolic journey from planting seeds of knowledge to harvesting ideas, exploring zones aligned with UNESCO’s goals, including quality education, clean energy, resilient infrastructure, and innovation. [caption id="attachment_36097" align="aligncenter" width="2560"] Exhibit blending the ancient and the modern; image: TCA, Stephen M. Bland[/caption] The experience begins in the soil, a ground-floor gallery that highlights Uzbekistan’s shift toward a green economy through renewable energy, eco-friendly transport, and energy-efficient housing, along with landmark projects such as the revitalization of the Aral Sea Basin. From there,...

9 months ago

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