Uzbekistan’s first contemporary art centre to open in Tashkent

Uzbekistan’s first contemporary art space is set to open its doors in a former Tashkent power station.

The Centre for Contemporary Art will officially open in 2020, making its home in the ornate brick building which once housed the Tashkent City Electrical Company, as well as the diesel power station operating the city’s first tram line.

The space has already launched its first exhibition, Qo‘rg‘on Chiroq, featuring the work of Uzbek video artist Saodat Ismailova.

Curated by Andrea Lissoni, the senior curator of film at London’s Tate Modern, the event will run alongside an inaugural programme of performances, lectures, and film screenings, held in partnership with Moscow’s Garage Museum of Contemporary Art.

Translated into English as Light on the Hill, the exhibition’s name refers to a ritual of lighting candles and lamps to connect with long-departed ancestors.

“This symbol of light is very close to me,” says Ismailova. “On the one hand, I work on the subject of collective memory, on the other, I am a film artist and my art is based on light.”

Qo‘rg‘on Chiroq will run at The Centre for Contemporary Art until 1 June.