“News from Central Asia” Exhibit in Washington DC

Brought by GW’s Central Asia Program

May 16-22 | 2022

Elliott School of International Affairs
1957 E St NW, 2nd Floor
Washington, DC 20052

We are celebrating our 10th Anniversary by bringing Central Asia to the heart of DC and launching our first public fundraising effort: #CAPraising. Join us for a week of in-person festivities to commemorate a decade of our achievements in advancing knowledge on and for Central Asia.

General admission Tickets

News from Central Asia Exhibit

May 16-22 | 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM

News from Central Asia brings together Central Asian artists, artisans, and designers whose inspirational works reflect political protests, environmental issues, collective memory restoration, the role of women, objects as reminders of historical events, and the transformation caused by modernization.

Curator Aida Sulova invited artists and designers from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan to share the news from their home countries in the form of an object. “For many artists in Central Asia, making art is the only way to respond and talk about the events taking place today. Although the concept of this exhibition has a geographical representation, the themes of the news are relevant to what we are witnessing in the world.”

Central Asia stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to the borderlands with China and Mongolia in the east. Since gaining their independence following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Central Asian countries have been undergoing a number of major political, social, and cultural transformations.

Curator: Aida Sulova

Artists:
Altynai Osmoeva, Kyrgyzstan
Jakshylyk Chentemirov, Kyrgyzstan
Dilyara Kayipova, Uzbekistan
Timur Karpov, Uzbekistan
Diana Rahmanova, Tajikistan
Saule Dyussenbina, Kazakhstan
Jol Jol, Kazakhstan
Shailoo Djekshenbaev, Kyrgyzstan
Guzel Zakir, Judy Ai, Kazakhstan
Galina & Evgeny Boikov, Kyrgyzstan
Chinara Niyazova, Kyrgyzstan
Jennet, Turkmenistan
Zalkar Askaraliev, Kyrgyzstan

PRESS:
Make Art with Purpose Podcast: A Conversation with Curator Aida Sulova
Calvert Journal: Wearable Connections: the Artists Reclaiming Central Asia’s Jewelry Legacy
NYCJW: Future Heirloom Exploring News from Central Asia

More information about artists and artworks

Tickets

Creative Workshops

May 17-21 | 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM

Tickets

Curatorial Walkthrough

Open to public and groups of students. Email infocap@gwu.edu for reservations.

Movie Screening | May 21-22

Tickets

Rhythms Of Lost Time
Trailer

DIRECTOR: Anisa Sabiri, Tajikistan

A journey through the most remote parts of Tajikistan -a young and little-known country which cradles the last embers of an ancient culture.

The film features British musician Leo Abrahams who has travelled to Tajikistan in search of maddoh – a form of transcendental funeral music which he has been interested in for many years but never witnessed.

The Crying Tanbur
Trailer

DIRECTOR: Anisa Sabiri, Tajikistan

A true story, based on the tragedy of the family of the died military journalist in Post-Soviet Tajikistan in 1993. This film is a debut film of young Tajik art activist, a novice filmmaker Anisa Sabiri. Native to rural Tajikistan, she hopes to use her art to shine a light on the history and horrors of the civil war and conflicts that have affected so many in her homeland, but are often forgotten by the rest of the world.

Cotton100%
Trailer

DIRECTOR: Michael Borodin, Uzbekistan

Yelena is an activist fighting for the rights of cotton harvesters. Muhabata is a farmer who is struggling with the hardships of rural life. This is the story of two strong women in a society where forced labour is considered the norm.

Sunflower
Trailer