September 5–November 20, 2025
The Uzbekistan Art and Culture Development Foundation (ACDF) announces the interdisciplinary programme for its debut edition of the Bukhara Biennial, which will unfold between September 5–November 20, 2025. From a lineup of Uzbek, Central Asian, and international participants will come site-specific artworks and installations—all newly commissioned and made in Uzbekistan—as well as events, performances, scholarly programmes, poetry, and culinary activations.
Commissioned by Gayane Umerova and curated by Diana Campbell, the debut edition, Recipes for Broken Hearts, marks one of Central Asia’s largest and most diverse cultural initiatives to date. Emphasising durational and participatory works, which also engage with the seasonality of the harvest season in Uzbekistan, each week of programming will introduce new narrative threads and opportunities for reflection through more than 70 site-specific, multi-sensory art projects.
Each work has been conceived through collaborations between artists and artisans from Uzbekistan, Central Asia and across the globe, and will amplify Uzbekistan’s regard for craft and culinary creation as valued art forms, dismantling hierarchies between fine arts and applied arts. Shakuntala Kulkarni’s (India) ambitious multi-room installation blends performance, craft, and film, capturing the essence of the biennial. Collaborating with the Bukhara Philharmonic, she pairs movement with music, forming a dialogue between body language and sound; a yurt structure, co-created with Indian and Karakalpak artisans, explores shared weaving traditions; and a sculptural tandoor plays a film at its base, made with cinematographer Ajay Noronha (India), inviting viewers to peer into a womb-like space.
Recipes for Broken Hearts draws inspiration from a local legend in which Ibn Sina, father of modern medicine, devised the recipe for palov to cure a prince who was lovesick from his impossible love for the daughter of a craftsman. Referencing this story of healing, Campbell presents the biennial as a body, nourished physically, emotionally, and spiritually—fostering shared experience and collective participation. The Bukhara Biennial’s new contribution to the city—Café Oshqozon—takes from the Uzbek term ‘oshqozon’ meaning ‘stomach’ or literally ‘vessel to prepare food’, and will become a central site for culinary rituals. Large mosaic organs by Bukharan artist Oyjon Khayrullaeva will visually tie biennial venues together as one metaphorical body, with a stomach mosaic marking the café's entrance.
Grounded in Bukhara’s historical ties to the global spice trade, the biennial considers food as a creative medium, placing it in dialogue with other forms of artistic expression. Through a series of chef-led activations, participants engage in culinary rituals as conduits for grieving, healing and sharing intimacy. Each weekend, Uzbek and international chefs will create unique dining experiences which pair food with storytelling and spiritual nourishment. Carsten Höller (Germany), Brutalisten head chef Coen Dieleman (Netherlands) and celebrated Uzbek chefs Bahriddin Chustiy and Pavel Georganov will design a menu transforming food into a nexus of science, art and emotion, running over the course of the biennial. Chef and Buddhist monk Jeong Kwan (South Korea) will mark the opening and closing of the biennial with a project exploring the transformational art of fermentation; chef Lilian Cordell (UK) will celebrate Jewish Bukharan culinary tradition, on the weekend of the 19 September; a project from Elena Reygadas (Mexico) exploring the migratory route of ingredients from the Americas to Central Asia takes place 23–24 September; Fatmata Binta’s (Sierra Leone) activation connects Central Asian and African traditions in drought prone areas, running 10–12 October; Zuri Camille de Souza (India) draws inspiration from miniature painting and her work with flowers, crafting a dinner that honours the fleeting beauty of seasons, hosted on the eve of the full moon, 5–6 November. To support young Uzbek chefs and restaurateurs in accessing the world’s best culinary practitioners, the Bukhara Biennial will launch a chef’s training programme, giving them the opportunity to reimagine their culinary traditions and redefine fine dining for the twenty-first century.
Subodh Gupta (India) and Pavel Georganov (Uzbekistan) trace the culinary and architectural links between Uzbekistan and India, through a dome made of enamel dishes that are ubiquitous in Central Asian visual culture. The Rice Cultures Festival, running November 16–20, co-curated by Diana Campbell and Marie Hélène Pereira, will celebrate global rice traditions—from Bukharan palov, Indian pulao, and Spanish paella to Senegalese jollof rice and more—through a participatory cooking and storytelling event, evocative of the palov competitions hosted by the Emir of Bukhara.
The House of Softness, the biennial’s initiative in the sixteenth-century Gavkushon Madrasa, will serve as a platform for learning and reflection. Inspired by Baghdad’s historic House of Wisdom, the House of Softness functions as a space for confronting hardship and cultivating emotional resilience. Artist and architect Suchi Reddy (India/US) will design a suspended canopy in the courtyard of the House of Softness using the embroidered patterns of Ikat, the traditional Uzbek fabric, forming a canopy of protection for visitors, with a mobile furniture installation inspired by neuroaesthetics. This space will be the centrepiece of the biennial’s public programme, hosting an art history symposium, a poetry programme, and a collaboration with the Nationwide Children’s Library, among other activations. A curatorial school will take place November 3–9, in collaboration with the Centre for Contemporary Art, Tashkent, focused on the art of curating artworks not yet in existence, taking biennial projects as case studies. A symposium titled The Craft of Mending, October 6–8, curated by Uzbek art historian and Harvard University scholar Aziza Izamova, will examine Uzbekistan’s cross-cultural heritage and feature 30 emerging scholars specializing in Central Asian history. Katya García-Antón will curate a performative poetry programme in the final week November 16–20, celebrating Bukhara’s poetic legacy as an historic centre for poets from Rumi and Abdurauf Fitrat, to Rudaki and Langston Hughes.
The foundational work of the Art and Culture Development Foundation and commissioner Gayane Umerova, built through years of collaboration with Uzbek artisans, has enabled the unique curatorial approach where local craft grounds contemporary, site-specific works. The biennial inaugurates Umerova’s long-term vision to reestablish Bukhara as a hub of cultural and intellectual significance along the Silk Roads, with plans for a year-round arts district including a museum, studios, performance spaces, and a digital archive.
The current list of participants includes: Ighshaan Adams (South Africa); Rayhon Akramova (Uzbekistan); Rustam Akramov (Uzbekistan); Khadim Ali (Australia/Pakistan/Afghanistan); Ahmad Angawi (Saudi Arabia); Ahmad Arabov (Uzbekistan); Andrey Arakelyan (Uzbekistan); Kamil Aslanov (Uzbekistan); Tarek Atoui (Lebanon); Rauf Avezov (Uzbekistan); Vahap Avşar (Turkey/USA); Dana Awartani (Palestine/Saudi Arabia); Aziza Azim (Uzbekistan); Bakhtiyar Babamuradov (Uzbekistan); Zilola Bagirova (Uzbekistan); Louis Barthélemy (France); Fatmata Binta (Ghana/Sierra Leone); Mathieu Bissonnee (Canada/UK); Jahongir Bobokulov (Uzbekistan); Behzod Boltaev (Uzbekistan); Sarvinoz Boʻronova (Uzbekistan); Abdulvahid Bukhoriy (Uzbekistan); Sabina Burkhanova (Uzbekistan); Hera Büyüktaşcıyan (Turkey); Caravane Earth (Qatar); Qu Chang (China); Yun Choi (South Korea); Liu Chuang (China); Bahriddin Chustiy (Uzbekistan); Lilian Cordell (UK); Denis Davydov (Uzbekistan); Binta Diaw (Senegal/Italy); Coen Dieleman (Netherlands); Ekaterina Enileyeva (Uzbekistan); Bekhbaatar Enkhtur (Mongolia); Yunus Farmonov (Uzbekistan); Pavel Georganov (Uzbekistan); Laila Gohar (Egypt); Rajyashri Goody (India); Antony Gormley (UK); Bahrom Gulov & Anvar Gulov (Uzbekistan); Fazliddin Gulov (Uzbekistan); Subodh Gupta (India); Pakui Hardware (Lithuania); Samah Hijawi (Jordan/Belgium); Hylozoic/Desires (India/UK); Carsten Höller (Sweden); Kei Imazu (Japan); Gulnoza Irgasheva (Uzbekistan); Eva Jospin (France); Temur Jumaev (Uzbekistan); Ilyor Jumaev (Uzbekistan); Bakhshillo Jumaev & Mukkadas Jumaeva (Uzbekistan); Dilnoza Jumaeva (Uzbekistan); Shonazar Jumaev (Uzbekistan); Aziza Kadyri (Uzbekistan/UK); Zi Kakhramonova (Uzbekistan); Abdulnabil Kamalov (Uzbekistan); Zokhir Kamolov & Said Kamolov (Uzbekistan); Khristofor Kan (Uzbekistan, 1934–2019); Nazira Karimi (Tajikistan/Kazakhstan); Dilnoza Karimova (Uzbekistan); Madina Kasymbaeva (Uzbekistan); Oyjon Khayrullaeva (Uzbekistan); Munisa Kholkhujaeva (Uzbekistan); Islom Khudoyberdiev (Uzbekistan); Jenia Kim (J.Kim) (Uzbekistan); Daria Kim (Uzbekistan); Vladimir Kim (Uzbekistan); Shakuntala Kulkarni (India); Hassan Kurbanbaev (Uzbekistan); Jeong Kwan (South Korea); Konstantin Lazarev (Russia); Anatoly Ligay (Uzbekistan, 1941–2001); Anna Lublina (USA/Germany); Sanjar Luqmonov (Uzbekistan); Jazgul Madazimova (Kyrgyzstan); Pavel Makarov (Uzbekistan); Taus Makhacheva (UAE/Republic of Dagestan, Russia); Makhsudjon Mamurov (Uzbekistan); Han Mengyun (China); Hana Miletic (Croatia/Belgium); Rasuljon Mirzaahmedov (Margilan Craft Development Centre, Uzbekistan); Dana Molzhigit (Kazakhstan); Delcy Morelos (Colombia); Akmal Muhiddinov (Uzbekistan); Gulnur Mukazhanova (Kazakhstan); Yulduz Mukhiddinova (Uzbekistan); Qodir Murodov (Uzbekistan); Nodir Murodov (Uzbekistan); Anton Nozhenko (Uzbekistan); Abdullo Narzullaev (Uzbekistan); Dilnoza Narzullaeva (Uzbekistan); Azamat Nashvanov (Uzbekistan); Sanjar Nazarov (Uzbekistan); Oysha Olimova (Uzbekistan); Sara Ouhaddou (France/Morocco); Ulugbek Qosimov (Uzbekistan); Alisher Rakhimov & Shokhrukh Rakhimov (Uzbekistan); Abdullo Raxmatov (Uzbekistan); Suchi Reddy (USA); Majid Al-Remaihi (Qatar); Elena Reygadas (Mexico); Veera Rustomji (Pakistan); Zilola Ruziyeva (Uzbekistan); Ruben Saakyan (Uzbekistan); Zilola Saidova (Uzbekistan); Anhar Salem (Saudi Arabia); Azizaxon Salimova (Uzbekistan); Makhfuza Salimova (Uzbekistan); Aisultan Seit (Kazakhstan); Aziza Shadenova (UK/Uzbekistan/Kazakhstan); Kamruzzaman Shadhin (Bangladesh); Shiru Shakar (Uzbekistan); Wael Shawky (Egypt); Jurabek Siddikov (Uzbekistan); Marina Perez Simão (Brazil); Zuri Camille de Sousa (India/France); Tavares Strachan (Bahamas); Saule Suleimenova (Kazakhstan); Gulnora Sultanova (Uzbekistan); Malika Tairova (Uzbekistan); Hylozoic/Desires (Himali Singh Soin & David Soin Tappeser, India/UK); Slavs and Tatars; Aleksandr Tolkachev (Uzbekistan); Abdurauf Taxirov (Uzbekistan); Davlat Toshev (Uzbekistan); Josef Tumari (Uzbekistan); Azamat Turekeev (Uzbekistan); Abbos Tuyev (Uzbekistan); Alisher Ubaydullaev (Uzbekistan); Abdurahim Umarov (Uzbekistan); Saidakmal Vahobov & Qand team (Uzbekistan); Erika Verzutti (Brazil); Sabrina Xomidova (Uzbekistan); Gulnora Yaxshiboyeva (Uzbekistan); Zavkiddin Yodgorov (Uzbekistan); Nomin Zezegmaa (Germany/Mongolia).
