Jewelry of Central Asia: Past and Present of the Art Tradition
While working in the archives of the Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, I came across an interesting document. It was a list of the…
The Comfort Zone of the Artist Alexander Barkovsky
In this essay, artist Alexander Barkovsky writes about his comfort zone, his attempts to escape it, and the reasons why he ultimately had to return to it.An artist must deceive…
The Return to Romanticism: Interview with Crimean Tatar folk artist Mamut Churlu
Mamut Churlu is an artist who worked for years in Uzbekistan and Russia on researching folk art practices as well as creating his own art. As part of the mass…
The Not-Naive Naivety Arts of Tajikistan
The history of modern Tajik art history rarely mentions the existence of a naive trend in the country’s fine arts. However, in her introduction to the publication Essays on the…
Genghis Khan, Kok-Par and Other Stories of the Great Steppe by Said Atabekov
“I wish to see kok-par players – “Steppe Wolves” from Central Asia on the world’s best catwalks. They are not the refined Europeans, just ordinary guys from a remote aul…
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Central Asian Non-Conformist Art in Norton Dodge Collection
Norton Townshend Dodge (June 15, 1927 – November 5, 2011) was an American economist who amassed one of the largest Soviet-era art collections outside of the Soviet Union. Dodge, who…
Uzbekistan Without Graffiti: Censorship Against Street Art
Despite the rich artistic traditions of the past, contemporary Uzbekistan can not particularly boast about its popular street art. Even in cosmopolitan Tashkent, public spaces sparkle with pristine purity. On…
Through the Eyes of an Artist: Art Quarantine by Vyacheslav (Yura) Useinov, Bobur Ismoilov and Anna Ivanova
In the midst of quarantine, I saw Stagnation (Стагнация) by Bobur Ismailov. The painting shows a lonely girl in a confined room with a book on her knees and the…
Feminism and Central Asia – What Went Wrong?
Feminism is not adequately perceived in Central Asian societies. Some consider it as a threat to the existing traditions of the patriarchal foundation, when a woman (responsible for too many…
Art Bazar! A New Initiative for Central Asian Artists to Create An Online Marketplace for Contemporary Art
Author Diana T. Kudaibergenova Diana T. Kudaibergenova is a Postdoctoral Research Associate on the UKRI GCRF “COMPASS” project at the University of Cambridge. She studies different intersections of power relations…
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Contemporary Art in Central Asia: An Interview with a Curator
Interview withThibaut de Ruyter is a French architect, curator, and critic. His latest projects include a traveling exhibition for the Goethe Institute in Eastern Europe and Central Asia entitled “die…
Central Asian and Azerbaijani Contemporary Art Discussion at Asia House, UK
“Azerbaijani and Central Asian art have a lot to offer the world in terms of discovery,” – says Rose Issa, a renowned curator and writer who has helped to introduce Iranian…
Civil Protests, Art, and Politics in Kazakhstan
As Kazakhstan heads for its first presidential election without long-time leader Nursultan Nazarbayev, a group of creative youth activists has shattered the appearance of stability in the country with several…