Our People > Tamila Olzhbaekova

Tamila Olzhbaekova

Journalist

Tamila Olzhabekova is a journalist, award-winning illustrator, and a volunteer, curator and event organizer in the DOSTAR diaspora of Kazakhstan organization.
Prior to working for The Times of Central Asia, she has written for Peter Tv, First Line, Five Corners, Sport.Kz, and numerous other publications. A campaigner for interethnic harmony and the protection of stray animals, she studied at St. Petersburg State University.

Articles

Delivery Couriers

Uzbekistan Delivery Drivers Under Police Scrutiny: Why Tashkent Lacks Space for Mopeds

A delivery courier in Tashkent says police confiscated the electric bicycle he used to deliver orders after demanding a driver's license, leaving him unable to work. In an early October video appeal, the man said his bicycle could not exceed 25 kilometers per hour and that he did not ride on roads used by cars. Economist Otabek Bakirov published the video amid increasingly frequent police inspections of moped and scooter riders, including delivery workers. Police have justified the inspections by pointing to traffic accidents. Figures released in early October put the number of accidents involving mopeds and scooters in Uzbekistan this year at 563, leaving 89 people dead and another 488 injured. But how well are Tashkent's streets equipped to accommodate the vehicles used by thousands of delivery workers every day? Thousands of Violations and New Regulations According to the Road Traffic Safety Service of Uzbekistan's Ministry of Internal Affairs, inspectors recorded 4,312 violations involving moped and scooter riders in 2026, about 14 times the number recorded throughout 2025. The agency attributes accidents partly to riders lacking driver's licenses and having insufficient knowledge of traffic rules. However, the sharp increase in recorded violations also coincides with new requirements for riders and more frequent police inspections. In early October, Tashkent police publicly explained another incident involving a motorized two-wheeler. On the night of October 2, inspectors stopped a man on Amir Temur Street because, according to their account, his vehicle was obstructing traffic. It had a homemade attachment that restricted visibility, while the rider's clothing lacked reflective elements. He also did not have the required documents. Since October 2025, Uzbekistan has required mopeds and scooters to be registered. In January 2026, the country introduced a simplified A1 driver's license subcategory for mopeds and certain other low-powered vehicles. This can be obtained by passing theoretical and practical exams, without compulsory driving-school training. Drivers who hold Uzbekistan's national licenses in categories A, B, C, or D do not need a separate A1 license. A vehicle's legal classification depends on its technical specifications. For example, ordinary electric kick scooters are classified as personal mobility devices and do not require a license. Couriers and Delivery Services In 2025, the People's Democratic Party of Uzbekistan estimated that there were approximately 130,000 couriers across the country making deliveries on bicycles, mopeds, and scooters. For students, people from other regions, and those without steady employment, delivery work can offer a way to earn money quickly. However, couriers often have to cover vehicle expenses, documentation costs, and fines themselves. Amid the police inspections, Sardor Kadyrov, vice president of Yandex Uzbekistan, presented his own figures. According to his estimates, couriers have received fines totaling nearly 4.7 billion soums, approximately $390,000, since the beginning of 2026. Missing documents accounted for only about 8% of the violations he cited, which covered motorcycle, scooter, and moped riders. Kadyrov also claimed that mopeds were involved in fewer than 6% of all recorded traffic accidents. His figures cover mopeds alone, while the Road Traffic Safety...

3 days ago

Small Businesses

Almaty Facade Renovations Leave Small Businesses in the Dust

When Gaukhar Osmonalieva rented a space in central Almaty for a pet grooming salon and coffee shop, renovations to the building’s facade were already underway. She was assured the work would be finished soon. Her business opened in August, but instead of a busy street and an outdoor terrace, she found herself surrounded by scaffolding, a torn-up sidewalk, and constant dust. By mid-October, construction was still underway, and the customers she had hoped to attract by choosing the location were coming less frequently. “At one point, the construction workers dug up the entire road, and foot traffic dropped noticeably. We chose this location because it was convenient and had heavy pedestrian traffic, but those are precisely the advantages we have now practically lost,” Osmonalieva told The Times of Central Asia. Almaty is Kazakhstan’s largest city and commercial hub. In 2026, the city launched a large-scale renovation of residential building facades, many dating back to the Soviet era. The original program covered 176 buildings in three central districts – Almaly, Bostandyk, and Medeu. More than 25.8 billion tenge (approximately $57 million) was allocated for the work. Many of the buildings house cafes, shops, and small businesses on their ground floors. [caption id="attachment_58399" align="aligncenter" width="2560"] Classes continue as normal at a language school on Abay Avenue as restoration goes on outside.[/caption] City officials promised to update the facades while preserving the buildings’ architectural features. But questions about how the work was organized emerged as early as spring. Local news outlet Vlast found that construction had begun at some sites in March, before public tenders were announced and contracts signed. Under the tender terms, renovating a single building was supposed to take three to five months. By August, only nine of the 178 buildings listed in updated district administration figures had been fully renovated. Authorities in Bostandyk expected to complete most of the work by September, while those in Almaty targeted October. Osmonalieva was initially told the renovations would take three weeks, then that they would be completed by September. After complaining via e-Otinish, Kazakhstan’s government complaints platform, she was given a new deadline: October 15. “But today is already October 12, and judging by the condition of the facade, I wouldn’t say even half the work has been done,” she said. According to Osmonalieva, there are often only three or four construction workers on the building. Tools are left near the entrance, while workers cut cladding materials beside the salon, filling the area with dust. [caption id="attachment_58396" align="aligncenter" width="2560"] A coffee shop on Kunaev Street, with construction materials stacked outside.[/caption] The coffee shop has suffered most. Osmonalieva had planned to open an outdoor terrace, a popular feature in Almaty, where warm weather lasts for several months. But scaffolding made it impossible to set up tables outside. “As a result, we missed the entire season. This had a significant impact on the coffee shop: demand was lower than expected, and we couldn’t reach our planned targets,” she said. The construction has created additional...

4 days ago

Women’s Safety on Trains

Women-Only Carriages in Kazakhstan: What Has Changed After Five Years?

In 2018, two conductors aboard a Tulpar-Talgo train raped a female passenger in her compartment while she was traveling from Astana to Aktobe. The crime shocked Kazakhstan and brought the issue of women’s safety on trains into public debate. Three years later, the country’s first women-only carriages appeared on Kazakhstan’s railways. From October 1, 2026, a women-only carriage will operate between Almaty and Tashkent, crossing an international border for the first time. The international service will become the 14th route covered by the project. Over the past five years, female passengers have made more than 946,000 journeys in women-only carriages. Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (KTZ), the national rail operator, cites strong demand as the reason for continuing to expand the service. But the most important indicator is missing from the publicly available statistics: whether women have actually become safer on Kazakhstan’s trains. KTZ does not publish data on harassment and violence before and after the project was introduced. The Case that Prompted Action The legal battle over the 2018 attack lasted for more than a year. The original sentences of two years and six months for one conductor and two years and three months for the other were overturned by the Kostanay Regional Court, which sent the case back for further investigation because of procedural violations. Following a retrial, Zhetes Umbetaliyev and Kolkanat Kurmaniyazov were found guilty and sentenced to five years in prison each. In February 2020, the regional court upheld the sentences. When the women-only carriage project began on October 10, 2021, it covered just two routes: Almaty-Mangystau and Almaty-Oskemen. Boys aged seven and under may travel with adult female passengers. In the booking system, these seats are marked with the letters “ZH” (ЖН), and fares are the same as for comparable seats in regular carriages. In less than three months in 2021, 13,243 women used the service. More than 114,000 did so in 2022, and by January 2026, KTZ reported that the total had risen to approximately 822,000. A Popular Initiative The Times of Central Asia asked three women in Kazakhstan what the option of traveling in a women-only carriage means to them. Raushan Otan, a 46-year-old art historian from Almaty, has already used the service. “I like the women-only carriage. When you spend several hours traveling, you feel calmer when there are only women around you. It gives you a sense of safety and additional confidence.” Samira Olzhabekova, an 18-year-old school student from Taraz, has not yet traveled in one, but says she would choose it on a future journey. “I haven’t traveled in one myself yet, but I’ve heard a lot about how convenient and nice it is. I think there could be more carriages and services like this. If I were traveling by train, I would definitely choose a women-only carriage.” Valeria Kuznetsova, a 22-year-old student from Astana, frequently travels alone. “I often travel alone, so for me this is a genuinely good initiative. When you have the option of choosing a women-only carriage, you...

4 weeks ago

Almaty Culture

Yurts, Throat Singing, and Aport Apples at Almaty City Day

On Sunday, September 20, yurts, market stalls, activity areas, and stages lined Panfilov Street, extending downhill from the building that houses the Kazakh-British Technical University (KBTU). The flow of people barely thinned until evening. Almaty celebrates City Day on the third Sunday of September. This year, concerts and festivals were held on Astana and Abai squares, Zhibek Zholy Street, outside the Alatau Theater of Traditional Art, and across all eight districts. The busiest program unfolded on Panfilov Street in the historic center. The main stage was set up near the KBTU building. Completed in 1957, it was the seat of the Supreme Soviet of the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic and later housed the parliament of independent Kazakhstan. It was here on December 16, 1991, that the constitutional law declaring Kazakhstan’s independence was adopted. The concert had no strict division by genre. Traditional throat singing, a vocal technique in which a singer produces a low note while bringing out higher overtones, gave way to folk dancing, followed by pop performers. The crowd remained dense as people moved between the main stage and nearby venues. Music changed along the length of Panfilov Street as visitors moved downhill. Some performers played outside the official program, while dombra musicians could be found beyond the festival area in other parts of the city. [caption id="attachment_56530" align="aligncenter" width="1280"] One of several music stages along the city streets.[/caption] At the Alma Digital area, traditional competitions were given a digital twist. In the archery event, the bow was real, but the target appeared on an LED screen, and the system displayed the arrow’s speed after each shot. In the tug-of-war challenge, a wall replaced the opposing team, while a screen measured the force applied in kilograms. Lines of children formed at both activities, regularly joined by adults. Yurts along the street offered felt goods, textiles, jewelry, and dombras. Children played games and watched performances, while other areas featured crafts, films, environmental projects, sports, and food. [caption id="attachment_56535" align="aligncenter" width="1280"] Traditional textiles.[/caption] An exhibition of archival photographs documented Almaty from the days of Verny through the postwar period. Visitors lingered over the images, trying to identify familiar streets and intersections. A separate area was devoted to the Alma Qala festival, where apples from farms around Almaty were brought for sale. According to Kazinform, more than 200 tons of fruit were supplied for the fair, ranging from widely grown varieties to the now much rarer Almaty Aport. The region’s connection to apples predates Aport, reaching back to Malus sieversii, the wild apple that still grows in the Tian Shan mountains and is recognized as the main progenitor of the modern cultivated apple. Genetic research traces the origins of domesticated apples to Central Asia and shows how other wild species contributed to their genetic makeup as cultivated varieties spread westward along the Silk Road. [caption id="attachment_56536" align="aligncenter" width="1280"] Apples gave Almaty its name.[/caption] Aport arrived in Verny in the 19th century and flourished in the foothills around the city, where its...

4 weeks ago

Natural Disasters

Tajikistan Turns to Early Warning Systems as Climate Risks Grow

On the evening of May 1, a mudflow swept into residential neighborhoods in Kulob, southern Tajikistan. When water flooded a neighboring house, Mirzo Muloniezov rushed inside and managed to carry out his two-year-old grandson. The water had already reached the electrical outlets. Muloniezov was electrocuted. Neighbors pulled him from the water, but he could not be saved. In the first six months of 2026, Tajik authorities recorded 741 natural emergencies. Avalanches accounted for 508 of them, while another 123 were mudflows. Twelve people were killed, and economic damage exceeded TJS 52.8 million – about $5.7 million. Dushanbe is now discussing with the United Kingdom technologies that could give people more time before disaster strikes. On September 14, Rajabali Rahmonali, chairman of Tajikistan’s Committee for Emergency Situations and Civil Defense, met British Ambassador Katherine Smitton. Along with training rescuers and holding joint exercises, the talks covered geographic information systems (GIS), risk mapping, drones, remote monitoring, and early warning systems. These are no longer technologies for some distant future. Drones and GIS are already being used to monitor glaciers and areas exposed to mudflows. In late August, scientists from the Research Center for Ecology and Environment of Central Asia surveyed the Megdor and Khirson glaciers in the Vanjob River basin. They combined aerial surveys using drones with satellite imagery, GIS data, and hydrometeorological observations. The data allow specialists to track glacier movement and areas where new hazards could emerge. During the expedition, they also surveyed the area around the village of Votkhud after a July 19 mudflow damaged water supply and irrigation infrastructure. Particular attention is being paid to the Khirson Glacier. Its sudden surges have previously blocked river channels and created glacial lakes. Such lakes can become dangerous if a natural ice or debris dam fails, sending large volumes of water crashing into the valley below. Some early warning infrastructure is already operating in the country. In June, Tajikistan’s Agency for Hydrometeorology reported the deployment of systems used for flood forecasting and early warning. Tajikistan is also rehabilitating hydrological stations and expanding its observation network. British assistance is therefore being discussed for a system that already has some of its components in place. What remains unclear is whether the cooperation will provide additional monitoring stations, drones, software, specialist training, or a combination of these – and where any new equipment or systems would operate. Kulob shows what the existing system still lacks. Heavy rains in early May triggered floods and landslides in several parts of the country. Three people died – two were trapped beneath collapsed walls, and Muloniezov was electrocuted. His son Muloniezov Yakubchon told Asia-Plus that the mudflow arrived at around 8 p.m. Water first entered a neighboring house where children were inside, and then destroyed his family’s fence. After his father’s death, the family temporarily moved in with relatives. By May 20, 520 affected families in Kulob had received government assistance, while another 330 were still waiting. Umeda Alimova, a resident of the Qurbon Zardak neighborhood, received flour,...

1 month ago

Education Policy

Kazakhstan Education Reform Puts 12th Grade Under Review

Kazakhstan is considering whether to eliminate the 12th grade at Nazarbayev Intellectual Schools (NIS), as some families transfer their children to regular schools after the 10th grade so they can graduate a year earlier. Established in 2008, NIS is a state-funded network of elite schools specializing in science, mathematics, and languages. It operates its own 12-year curriculum. Education Minister Zhuldyz Suleimenova said 88% of NIS graduates finish school at age 18, while about 300 received their diplomas at age 19 last year. A commission is examining whether the curriculum can be compressed into 11 grades, with conclusions expected by January 2027. The discussion began after remarks by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev on August 26. At a national education conference, Tokayev questioned whether it made sense to keep 18-year-olds in school and instructed officials to review the 12-year programs at NIS and private schools. Possible changes would also affect international programs. Suleimenova referred to the uniform national standard for school education enshrined in Kazakhstan’s new Constitution, which took effect on July 1. No decision has yet been made to eliminate the 12th grade. The commission is comparing the curricula of NIS and regular schools and calculating the number of instructional hours. NIS has a longer school day, roughly from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., plus eight hours of individual instruction a week. In regular schools, the main curriculum ends after the ninth grade; at NIS, it ends after the 10th. In the 11th grade, students at regular schools take state examinations while preparing for the Unified National Testing, Kazakhstan’s university entrance exam. NIS students have another year. There is a historical irony to the current debate. For more than two decades, Kazakhstan prepared to move in the opposite direction by making 12 years of schooling the national standard. The transition had been discussed since the early 2000s, and by 2012 the new model was being tested in more than 100 schools. The timetable was postponed several times, in part because of insufficient infrastructure. As recently as 2019, a full transition was planned for 2021. But the 12th grade ultimately took root mainly at NIS and some international schools. Today, the NIS network includes 22 Intellectual Schools and three international schools, with about 20,000 students and more than 2,600 teachers. Its schools use the NIS Programme and the International Baccalaureate. More than 4.1 million children are attending Kazakhstan’s schools in the 2026/27 academic year, including about 227,000 in the final 11th grade. The number of years spent in school, however, is only one part of the discussion. There is also an external measure of educational outcomes. On September 8, the same day Suleimenova spoke, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) released the results of the 2025 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). Students in Kazakhstan scored 420 points in science, 414 in mathematics, and 385 in reading. The respective OECD averages were 482, 463, and 461. More than 41% of participants from Kazakhstan failed to reach the baseline Level 2 in...

1 month ago

Women in Media

Central Asian Women Journalists Set Regional Priorities Through 2029

The Coalition of Women Journalists of Central Asia is preparing a multi-year program. At a conference that opened in Tashkent on September 14, more than 100 media professionals from across Central Asia are discussing common priorities through 2029 and developing a regional guide to gender-sensitive journalism. For the coalition, the program is an attempt to move from periodic conferences toward a permanent professional network. The Second Central Asian International Conference of Women Media Professionals runs from September 14 to 15 under the theme “Regional Solidarity, Digital Security and an Inclusive Future for Journalism.” The event is organized by Uzbekistan’s Modern Journalism Development Center, with the National Coalition of Women Journalists of Tajikistan serving as its regional partner. The coalition emerged after the first such meeting in Dushanbe. On May 3, 2024, participants signed a memorandum establishing it. A planned follow-up conference in Dushanbe in May 2025 was abruptly canceled after two venues declined to host it. No official explanation was given. Participants are now discussing a program for 2026–2029 covering mutual support and exchanges of experience. It would also provide for coordinated responses to threats against journalism. Digital security is a major focus of the Tashkent program. The agenda covers online harassment and how deepfakes are used to spread disinformation. Separate sessions address the psychological toll on journalists and ways to protect personal data and newsroom systems during a digital attack. Those concerns reflect a wider problem for women working in journalism. According to a report published by UNESCO in May 2026, 45% of surveyed women journalists and other media workers said they self-censored on social media because of online violence, up from 30% in 2020. About 22% reported self-censorship in their professional work. Roughly a quarter had been diagnosed with or treated for anxiety or depression linked to online violence, while 13% reported post-traumatic stress disorder. Regional newsrooms are also working to improve reporting on violence against women. On September 8–9, just days before the Tashkent conference, journalists from across Central Asia gathered in Almaty for training on ethical reporting of gender-based violence. The event, held with the participation of UN Women, focused on professional and ethical standards for covering such cases. The Tashkent meeting is also intended to make regional solidarity more practical. Participants are discussing ways to provide rapid professional support when journalists face online attacks or other pressure. Another expected outcome is a unified regional guide to gender-sensitive journalism. It is intended to bring together recommendations for reporting on gender-related issues in a responsible and balanced way. Tashkent will also host the Women Media Awards Central Asia, a regional award for women working in the media. The program includes an audiovisual performance, “Echo: The Power of Invisible Voices,” addressing hate speech and digital attacks involving bots and deepfakes. After Tashkent, the test will be whether the network works between conferences, when journalists are separated by national borders and a colleague may need help that same day.

1 month ago

Architectural Heritage

Ashgabat’s Postwar Architecture Is Disappearing One Building at a Time

In July, UNESCO added ten examples of Tashkent’s modernist architecture to the World Heritage List, recognizing the buildings and urban complexes that helped reshape the Uzbek capital after the devastating 1966 earthquake. In neighboring Kazakhstan, prominent Soviet-era buildings in Almaty are protected through national and local heritage registers. Turkmenistan has also gained international recognition for ancient sites such as Merv and Nisa, along with traditions of carpet weaving and horse breeding. Yet Ashgabat’s 20th-century architecture remains largely absent from this system of recognition. This has taken on added urgency because some of the buildings that tell the story of modern Ashgabat are already disappearing. [caption id="attachment_56051" align="aligncenter" width="1774"] Image: TCA, Stephen M. Bland[/caption] In August 2026, turkmen.news reported the demolition of several buildings near Ashgabat’s 30th microdistrict. Some were residential blocks. Although some occupants received replacement apartments, other families objected to the relocation terms. In February, the former building of the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography on Azadi Street was also demolished. At different times, it had housed a court and the Cultural Heritage Center. An additional floor and marble cladding had already changed its appearance, although some neoclassical elements survived. Once a building has been demolished, its architecture can be studied only through archives and photographs. For Ashgabat, this is particularly significant because much of the city visible today emerged from one of the worst disasters in its history. The City After the Earthquake The 1948 Ashgabat earthquake struck on the night of October 6, destroying or severely damaging much of the city. The capital had to be largely rebuilt. Architectural historian Ruslan Muradov writes that postwar reconstruction began with two-story brick apartment buildings designed to meet higher seismic standards. Their facades featured decorative plasterwork and carved wooden elements on the loggias, or recessed balconies. New residential blocks were organized around shared courtyards and greenery. In the 1950s, the Academy of Sciences, the railway station, Turkmen State University, theaters, administrative buildings, and new housing transformed the city center. From the 1960s through the 1980s, hotels, public buildings, and residential districts added another architectural layer. Behind this architecture was the everyday life of several generations. Courtyards became extensions of apartments, while institutions and shops occupied the ground floors. The postwar city gradually became an ordinary, lived-in urban environment. Its surviving buildings still offer clues to how Ashgabat recovered after 1948. They show how seismic risk changed construction, how the climate influenced housing design, and how planners used the spaces between buildings. But unlike some neighboring capitals, Ashgabat has no publicly available inventory identifying the most significant examples of its postwar architecture. The time available to document them is shrinking. [caption id="attachment_56053" align="alignnone" width="1774"] Image: TCA, Stephen M. Bland[/caption] Turkmenistan’s Heritage Focus Turkmenistan has five properties on the World Heritage List. Ancient Merv, Kunya-Urgench, and the Parthian Fortresses of Nisa make up three of them. The other two are transnational properties, the Silk Roads: Zarafshan-Karakum Corridor and the Cold Winter Deserts of Turan. Another nine sites are on the country’s Tentative...

1 month ago

Cultural Heritage

The Art of the Witty Reply: How Uzbek Askiya Works

Imagine two people standing before an audience. One throws out a joke. The other has only a few seconds to grasp the meaning, pick up the wordplay, and fire back – preferably with something even sharper. The first responds again. Hesitate, miss the implication, or simply fail to make the audience laugh, and the round is lost. That is how askiya works – a traditional Uzbek contest of wit in which the conversation cannot be scripted in advance. In 2014, UNESCO inscribed askiya on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. But the genre lives on beyond festivals and recordings of old masters. Today, schoolchildren compete in askiya, young performers learn from their elders, and short performances circulate on social media. The Joke Is Only the Beginning Askiya usually involves two or more participants. They choose a common theme, one begins, and the others respond by seizing on words, double meanings, and unexpected associations in the previous speaker’s line. There is no time to step away and think of a better answer. A good askiyachi – an askiya performer – needs a keen sense of language, quick reactions, and the ability to instantly recognize where someone else’s thought can be taken. Almost anything can provide material: everyday situations, human habits, relationships, and events familiar to the audience. Humor also makes it possible to address subjects that are not always easy to laugh about in ordinary conversation. Askiya can poke fun at human weaknesses and comment on events around it, but it does so through verbal play rather than moralizing. UNESCO notes that the tradition is particularly closely associated with the Fergana Valley and the Tashkent region. Historically, most practitioners have been men. How Do You Teach Improvisation? The hardest part is passing the skill on to the next generation. A famous comedian’s joke can be memorized. In askiya, that is not enough. A performer has to hear the other person’s line, spot the trap hidden inside it, and find a way out before the audience loses interest. Traditionally, performers learned directly from a master. In Uzbekistan, this principle is known as ustoz-shogird – “master and apprentice.” It is used across many traditional arts, from music to crafts. The system is still at work in the Fergana Valley, one of the main centers of askiya. At a recent regional competition marking the 116th anniversary of Uzbek actor and comedian Soyib Khodjayev, the askiya club from School No. 57 in the city of Karasu took second place. The school of mastery named after Abdulkhay Makhsum Kazakov from Kurgantepa district won first place, while a team from Jalakuduk district finished third. Askiya was judged separately from other comic performances and theatrical miniatures. The distinction matters: a sketch can be rehearsed; a verbal duel cannot. Special schools of mastery also operate in districts of the Fergana region. Young performers train with experienced artists, preserving the traditional method of learning directly from a master. But a paradox remains: how do you teach...

1 month ago

Contemporary Art

From Bukhara to Venice: How Uzbekistan Is Building a Contemporary Art Scene

Uzbekistan has long known how to attract foreign visitors with its past – Samarkand, Bukhara, the Silk Road, and Islamic architecture. Now the country is trying to interest the world in what it is creating today. In just a few years, Uzbekistan has launched the Bukhara Biennial and established a national pavilion at the Venice Biennale. On September 6, the country’s first permanent center for contemporary art opened in Tashkent. The Centre for Contemporary Arts Tashkent (CCA Tashkent) occupies a 1912 industrial building that once served as a diesel station and tram depot. French architecture firm Studio KO preserved its industrial character while incorporating local materials and craft techniques. Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, chairperson of Qatar Museums, attended the opening. Three days earlier, Qatar Museums and the Uzbekistan Art and Culture Development Foundation launched a five-year collaboration covering exhibitions and artist residencies, professional development for museum specialists, and work with Islamic heritage. For the young Tashkent center, this offers a route into established international museum networks. Over the past two decades, Qatar has built one of the Middle East’s most prominent museum networks. The connection with Doha could give Tashkent access to artists, curators, and museum networks developed over years. [caption id="attachment_55705" align="aligncenter" width="819"] Image: ccat.uz[/caption] The Foundation Behind the Push One organization stands behind several of Uzbekistan’s major contemporary art projects: the Uzbekistan Art and Culture Development Foundation (ACDF). It organizes the Bukhara Biennial, oversees the new center in Tashkent, and presents the country’s national pavilion at the Venice Biennale. The foundation was established in 2017 and now operates within the Presidential Administration. It is headed by Gayane Umerova, who also leads the administration’s Department of Creative Economy and Tourism. The foundation’s projects have also received support from Saida Mirziyoyeva, head of the Presidential Administration. That context helps explain where the funding and scale come from. Contemporary art in Uzbekistan is developing with direct state support, while exhibitions and biennials have become part of a broader effort to reshape the country’s cultural image abroad. Bukhara provided the first major test. In 2025, the ancient city hosted its first contemporary art biennial, Recipes for Broken Hearts. Works were installed among madrasas, mosques, and other buildings in Bukhara’s historic center, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. According to the organizers, the biennial drew more than 1.8 million visitors over its run. It was an unusual experiment for the region: contemporary art was not separated from the architecture that has drawn tourists to Bukhara for decades, but placed directly inside it. Tashkent is trying something different. Here, artists now have a permanent space where they can not only exhibit but also work. [caption id="attachment_55708" align="alignnone" width="1024"] ccat.uz[/caption] From Uzbek Ceramics to Kimsooja The center’s inaugural exhibition is called Hikmah – “Wisdom.” Curated by the center’s chief curator, Sara Raza, it explores craft, memory, material, and knowledge passed between generations. Among the participating artists is Shokhrukh Rakhimov, who grew up in a family of Uzbek ceramicists. His work continues that tradition...

1 month ago

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