In the autumn of 2025, ancient Bukhara will become a point of attraction for the global art community. It will host the first Central Asian International Biennial — a large-scale forum and exhibition that brings together contemporary art, architecture, textiles, music, crafts and gastronomy. And although the biennial is organized by Uzbekistan, this event has a much broader regional scale. It is about us. About Central Asia. And, of course, about Kazakhstan.

Kazakhstan is not just a neighbor, but a key player in the formation of the artistic and intellectual scene of Central Asia. The participation of Kazakhstani artists and architects in international biennials — from Venice to Istanbul — has already become a stable practice. But the Central Asian Biennial in Bukhara is a rare opportunity to speak the “local language” about the global context.

According to information from the curators, Kazakhstani artists participate in the format of special projects and performative practices, where the idea is more important than the name. Among the invited artists are groups and authors from Almaty, Astana and Shymkent, working with the themes of loss, memory, identity and craft heritage. In a situation where borders are becoming increasingly rigid, culture once again plays the role of a bridge - from the steppes to Samarkand, from Almaty to Bukhara.

It should be noted that this year the biennale will be held from September 5 to November 20, 2025, covering the historical spaces of Bukhara: the Kalyan minaret, the Magoki-Attari mosque, the Miri-Arab madrasah, caravanserais and artisan workshops. This is not just a forum - it is a dialogue between the past and the future.

Return to craft - as a return to oneself

One of the key motifs of the biennale will be the revival of craft as a political act. Artists from Kazakhstan actively work with textiles, wool, felt, embroidery - turning traditional techniques into a form of statement. The young school of artists working with femininity, corporality and ecology is especially noticeable.

Thus, the project of a Kazakh artist, inspired by the Kazakh proverb "Zhan zharasyn soz emdeydi" (words heal spiritual wounds), visually combines with the theme of "recipes for a broken heart" declared by the organizers of the biennale.

The role of the biennale is not only artistic

The Central Asian Biennale is a platform for horizontal connections. It is important for Kazakh artists not only to participate, but also to curate, write, criticize and discuss. The image of a region cannot be exported from the outside - it must be built by its residents themselves. And participation in the biennale is a step towards its own cultural language, where not Moscow, Berlin or Paris determine the agenda, but Taraz, Osh, Khujand and Uralsk.

The Central Asian Biennale in Bukhara is not an event of one city, but a cultural manifesto of the entire region. Kazakhstan is an integral part of it.

Through the dialogue of arts, crafts and identities, we not only become more visible in the world, we begin to hear each other.
It should be noted that last year, in 2024, Kazakhstan was represented at the 60th Venice Art Biennale with its first official national pavilion, which was open from April 20 to November 24 at the Museo Storico Navale di Venezia (Castello 2148) under the name “Jerūiyq: Journey Beyond the Horizon”.

Our country was officially represented at the Venice Biennale for the first time, proudly entering the world art scene and laying the groundwork for further architectural and multicultural initiatives.