Debuts

The first Bukhara Biennial conquers the global stage

Among the artists is the Italian-Senegalese artist Binta Diaw, who dialogues with Uzbek artisans for an installation about global identities and shared memories

by Maria Adelaide Marchesoni

14 September 2025

4' min read

Key points

Artists and works

4' min read

When you carefully mix the right ingredients - tradition and innovation, local talent and an international outlook, history and the contemporary - the result can only be a success. This is the winning recipe of the first edition of the Bukhara Biennial, entitled "Recipes for Broken Hearts", open from September until 20 November, which has transformed the ancient Uzbek city into a crossroads of global contemporary creativity. The recipe, in this case, involved bringing together international artists, local talents and master craftsmen: different voices that were able to enrich each other without overpowering each other. Orchestrating this complex alchemy was Diana Campbell, who with her vision was able to give coherence and rhythm to a dialogue that would otherwise be dispersive and at risk of being reduced to a mere decorative exercise. This first edition was not just an exhibition of works, but a living laboratory of cultural contaminations that allowed young Uzbek talents to become internationally known.

«Untitled», 2024–2025 di Marina Perez Simão (Brazil), in collaborazione con Bakhtiyar Babamuradov (Uzbekistan)

A central role was played by the craftsmen of Bukhara, repositories of ancient techniques handed down from generation to generation: from ceramics to textile work, from wood marquetry to miniature painting. Their manual knowledge, rooted in history, met the vision of contemporary artists, creating over 70 site-specific projects, works that are both memory and invention. In this dialogue, the Biennale showed how the so-called 'applied arts' can become works of art with a universal language, capable of speaking to the present without losing the link with their origins.

No disclosure on costs although rumours have emerged that, in addition to the production costs of the works, the artists and craftsmen were compensated for their work. The public, curators, museum directors from all over the world - from Italy Francesco Stocchi, artistic director of the Maxxi - contributed to making the atmosphere of the Biennial even more vibrant Among the alleys and squares of Bukhara, a special energy was in the air: curiosity, exchange and participation.

«CLOSE», 2024–2025 di Antony Gormley (England), in collaborazione con Temur Jumaev (Uzbekistan)

The artists and works

Among the artists is the Italo-Senegalese Binta Diaw, born in 1995 (at Prometeo Gallery, Milan, the prices of her works range from 7,000 to 22,000 euros and for large works the price reaches 40,000 euros) who in collaboration with Mastura Maxmudova and Zarnigor Maxmudova (Uzbekistan) has created "Cosmopoétique", 2024-2025, an installation that takes inspiration from carpet making and also alludes to the historical role played by trade routes in the interconnection between Africa and Asia, which enabled the exchange of cultural practices between the continents.

The sculptural installation by Antony Gormley, 'Close' (2025) inside the Khoja Kalon mosque was realised in collaboration with the restorer Temur Jumaev (Bukhara, 1992) and local brick manufacturers. Formed of several mud bricks, it resembles a labyrinth of bodies.

There were several ceramic works and among them the Berlin-based collective Slavs and Tatars (they are represented by several galleries including Tanya Bonakdar, New York; in Italy they exhibited at East Contenporary and the prices of the works on show ranged between 10,000 and 35,000 euro). The work "Qourds & Qurban, (2024-2025) installed in the Madrasa Gavkushon showcases authentic melons suspended within a structure reminiscent of the golden embroidery of Bukhara, evoking the ancient Uzbek legends according to which sacred messages are engraved on the skin of the fruit. The installation not only celebrates the aesthetics and spirituality associated with the melon, but also restores memory and linguistic dignity by transliterating over forty names of karakalpak varieties from Cyrillic to their original Arabic script. Reflected in this interweaving is the collaboration with master craftsman Abdullo Narzullaev, with the rediscovery of Arabic calligraphy as a form of beauty.

From South Korea, Yun Choi, in collaboration with the Yunusov brothers, has created 'Dark age is better, Desert is the future', 2025 two towers decorated with glazed ceramic smart phones reminiscent of a 1988 work by Nam June Park, 'The more the better', an imposing video sculpture now mostly switched off due to obsolete technology.

«Cosmopoétique», 2024–2025 di Binta Diaw (Italy, Senegal), in collaborazione con Mastura Maxmudova and Zarnigor Maxmudova (Uzbekistan)

Numerous other works have enriched the Bukhara Biennial whose financial support for the project and, more generally, the cultural transformation is thanks to Gayane Umerova, president of the Uzbekistan Arts and Culture Development Foundation (ACDF) established in 2017 that plays a key role in shaping the Uzbek art scene. Shortly before the opening of the Biennale, the ACDF together with the Delfina Foundation, launched a public call for young curators, under 30, to participate in the Curatorial School of the first edition of the Bukhara Biennale. The BBBB Curatorial School will be held in Bukhara and will bring together six curators - three from Uzbekistan and three from across Asia - to experiment with new approaches to curating and exhibition making. The programme will culminate in a major international exhibition in spring 2026, co-curated by all participants. All eyes will be on Central Asia, which with the narrative power of its cultural heritage can offer the global art system a new perspective, capable of challenging established centres and their hierarchies.