Restoration and Reinvention: Breathing New Life into Uzbekistan’s Islamic Spaces
A new unique project in the Central Asian nation of Uzbekistan seeks to both revive and repurpose an architectural gem that survived the Soviet Union and decades of harsh weather.
The Center for Contemporary Art residencies will be a unique cultural space in the heart of Tashkent. The site was built as a madrassa during the 1880s but, during the Soviet era, was used as a carpentry space. The site will be relaunched next year as the home base for an international art residency program.
Rooms once designed to house students of the Quran have been retrofitted into basic but cosy rooms for artists. Meanwhile, work on a former mosque, on the site, is still ongoing and will serve as a meeting space. The sites redevelopment falls under the auspices of the Uzbekistan Art and Culture Development Foundation.
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“The vision of the foundation is to bring these historic structures back to life,” said Gayane Umerova, the Chairperson of the ACDF. “This was a structure in quite bad shape, and part of our work is restoration, and part of it is about teaching and building capacities in line with international practice.”
This restoration project is part of an ambitious cultural program that seeks to help leverage Uzbekistan’s rich religious history and culture. Elsewhere in the country Samarkand is set to become one the “Culture Capitals” of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in 2025. Many of its most important Islamic monuments have been given a new polish for this event. Meanwhile Bukhara, another fabled oasis city in the country will host a Biennial of contemporary art next year.
A block from the Centre for Contemporary Art Residences in Tashkent, a large Center for Islamic Civilization is set to open next year. A museum and research facility with global aspirations, the center will contain 200,000 manuscripts, and the three-story structure will also house a 500-seat auditorium.
The board members of the selection community have ties around the globe. Two individuals with U.S. ties are involved with the selection committee: US-based architect and designer Ronald Rael and Brooklyn-based art historian and writer Glenn Adamson. One of the most prominent members is Saudi Arabian cultural commentator Ahmad S Angawi. Others include Japanese curator Ikko Yokoyama, and French design patron Pascale Siegrist Mussard. Another member involved is Carla Sodi of Mexico’s Fundación Casa Wabi.
ACDF contracted the Aga Khan Cultural Services for restoration works on the CCA site especially for the oldest building at the Nanuma residency, a mosque which though built in the 1880s has been ravaged by time.
Alisher Rakhimov represents some of Uzbekistan on the selection committee. The ceramicist is the sixth generation in his family to practice (his son who is already continuing the tradition is seventh generation)
“As artists we need all the inspiration because artists always need inspiration and visiting a new culture and new place is part of that process. Artists are always learning from each other and tried to get some and learning from each other.”
Rakhimov and a handful of traditional artisans are keeping alive Islamic art traditions in the country. Much of Uzbekistan’s Islamic cultural heritage was destroyed by Communist authorities during the Soviet Era. Bukhara was one of Central Asia’s most beautiful cities with hundreds of Islamic monuments. However, the Soviet Union demolished the city's ancient walls and many other buildings. Today, only 30% of the historic core remains.
“Even in the Soviet era there were Uzbek and Islamic traditions that were reflected in the buildings that were built during that time. This was one way the culture discreetly survived said Rakhimov.
Next year a Bukhara Biennial, like those around the world from Venice to Sharjah, will repurpose historic structures for displays of contemporary art.
The Aga Khan Foundation team which has done similar development projects in Afghanistan is working to protect as much of the historic structures in Bukhara similar to its works on the madrassa in Tashkent.
“Some of the interventions the building has seen over the decades is the roof from the 1930s and 1940s,” said Ajmal Maiwandi, architect and the CEO of the Aga Khan Cultural Services. “This has its own quality and we will preserve it.”
The Tashkent structure includes two prayer areas. An internal location for winter prayers and external one for summer prayers. The interior was long ago destroyed in the Soviet era to make way for a door. The mihrab of the original mosque was bricked up in the Soviet era but still survives and was uncovered by the team.
The ACDF team is also working to preserve the ayvan, a traditional terrace, for gatherings and events. The center will also feature a café and an exhibition hall. The ACDF team was chosen in part for the project because they worked on similar projects in Afghanistan.
“We are a secular country but, over the past 30 years, in line with government vision, new mosques and schools have been established, so these projects are about breathing new life into cultural spaces,” Umerova said. “Preservation but, also reinvention is important, and the two go hand-in-hand.”
Joseph Hammond is a former Fulbright fellow in Malawi and a journalist who has reported extensively from Africa, Eurasia and the Middle East. Hammond is also part of the Interfaith Dialogue on Violent Extremism (iDove) at the African Union. He speaks enough Spanish and Arabic to discuss boxing, a sport he treasures.