CCA Tashkent Opens as Uzbekistan's First Art Center

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.uz) — The Center for Contemporary Art (CCA Tashkent) opened in Tashkent on 5 September 2026, becoming Uzbekistan’s first permanent institution dedicated to contemporary art.

The new cultural center is housed in a historic former diesel power station dating back to 1912 and brings together exhibition spaces, a library, concept store, restaurant, educational facilities and public spaces for meetings, research and cultural dialogue.

The comprehensive format makes CCA Tashkent one of the first institutions of its kind in Central Asia to combine exhibition, educational, research and public functions within a single cultural space.

Historic building gets new life

The Center for Contemporary Art is housed in a historic building constructed in 1912. Its architectural transformation was developed by the renowned French firm Studio KO. During the reconstruction, specialists preserved the building’s industrial character while adapting it to the requirements of a modern cultural institution.

The former power station has thus been transformed into a space where Tashkent’s historical heritage meets contemporary architecture and art.

CCA Tashkent is a project of the Uzbekistan Art and Culture Development Foundation. Its creation is part of broader initiatives to develop the country’s cultural infrastructure, support contemporary art and expand international cultural cooperation.

“The opening of the Center for Contemporary Art in Tashkent marks an important stage in the development of Uzbekistan’s cultural infrastructure and the implementation of our long-term vision to create a sustainable contemporary art ecosystem. CCA Tashkent has become a space where artists, researchers, curators and representatives of diverse communities meet, while the local artistic context enters into a full-fledged dialogue with the international cultural environment,” said Gayane Umerova, chairwoman of the Uzbekistan Art and Culture Development Foundation.

According to the organizers, the Center was designed not only to introduce audiences to contemporary art but also to create conditions for its development through educational programs, research, international projects and cultural exchange.

First exhibition — Hikmah

The opening of CCA Tashkent was accompanied by an extensive public program featuring exhibitions, discussions, lectures, concerts, performances, film screenings and educational events.

The Center’s first exhibition was Hikmah, curated by Dr. Sarah Raza. The title comes from the Arabic word “hikmah,” meaning “wisdom.”

The exhibition brought together works by contemporary artists exploring the relationship between local traditions, material culture, spiritual heritage and contemporary artistic practices.

The exhibition featured Muhannad Shono, Nari Ward, Shohruh Rakhimov, Tarik Kiswanson, Kimsooja, Ali Cherri and Nadia Kaabi-Linke. It also included works by Vladimir Pan, Daribay Saipov and Bakhtiyar Saipov from the collection of the I. V. Savitsky State Museum of Arts of the Republic of Karakalpakstan.

The exhibition project also featured a sound installation prepared by CCA Tashkent music curator Sabina Inoyatova.

“The Hikmah exhibition was dedicated to exploring new points of connection between tradition, material culture and contemporary artistic practices. Bringing together artists from different countries, it offered a new way of understanding wisdom as a continuous process of reflecting on culture, memory and art,” said CCA Tashkent chief curator Dr. Sarah Raza.

Uzbekistan enters the international art scene

International cooperation has become one of the key areas of the Center’s activities.

CCA Tashkent presented the exhibition “Instruments of the Mind” as an official parallel project of the 61st Venice Biennale of Contemporary Art. The exhibition was held at Palazzo Francetti in Venice and focused on the work of one of Central Asia’s most significant artists, Vyacheslav Akhunov.

The project was CCA Tashkent’s first international exhibition project and demonstrated the new institution’s ambition to present Uzbek and Central Asian contemporary art at major global cultural venues.

As part of the Center’s public program, an exhibition by Dutch-Moroccan designer Mohamed Bensalah opened at the State Museum of History of Uzbekistan on 5 September. The collection was created during his stay at an art residency in Tashkent in 2025 and was inspired by Uzbekistan’s culture, craft traditions and architectural heritage.

New projects and international residencies

Art residencies have become an important part of CCA Tashkent’s activities. Alongside two existing residencies in Tashkent, a new residency in Samarkand began operating in September 2026.

While the Tashkent program was focused primarily on creating new works of art, the Samarkand residency focused on research, interdisciplinary exchange and exploring the city’s rich historical and cultural heritage.

From 4 to 14 September 2026, Samarkand hosted the AA Visiting School: Climate Cartographies in Samarkand, an off-site school organized by the Architectural Association.

The program brought together public lectures, research walks and practical workshops. Participants explored the relationship between climate, cultural heritage and space through the history of Samarkand. Architects, artists, historians, scientists and researchers took part in the program.

Art as a tool for international dialogue

The creation of CCA Tashkent has become an important event not only for the cultural life of the capital but also for Uzbekistan’s broader artistic community.

The Center has created a new platform for interaction between Uzbek artists and the international professional community, while giving local audiences an opportunity to discover contemporary artistic practices from different countries.

One of the institution’s key objectives is to promote Uzbek artists internationally, create opportunities for research, participation in international exhibitions and the implementation of joint projects.

In 2027, CCA Tashkent planned to present a solo exhibition by Ilya and Emilia Kabakov. Zelmira Tregulova was expected to serve as the project’s guest curator. The large-scale site-specific exhibition was intended to reinterpret the Kabakovs’ artistic legacy in the context of the Center’s historic building.

A new cultural destination in Tashkent

The opening of CCA Tashkent marks another step in the development of Uzbekistan’s contemporary cultural infrastructure.

The Center’s distinctive feature is its combination of several areas within one space, including contemporary art, education, research, international cooperation, public initiatives and cultural tourism.

Its location in the historic building of a former power station gives the project additional symbolic significance.

An industrial facility from the early 20th century has been given a new function and transformed into a venue for 21st-century art.

Working simultaneously with the local artistic community and international partners, CCA Tashkent has created a new platform for cultural exchange, contributing to Uzbekistan’s integration into the global contemporary art landscape.

The opening of the Center is more than the emergence of a new exhibition space.

It marks the establishment in Uzbekistan of an institution focused on the long-term development of contemporary art, support for artists, research and international cultural dialogue.