Tashkent: HE Chairperson of Qatar Museums Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad Al-Thani attended the official inauguration of the Centre for Contemporary Arts Tashkent (CCA Tashkent), marking the first permanent centre for contemporary art in Uzbekistan. The event signifies a pivotal moment in the cultural relationship between Qatar and Uzbekistan, as Qatar Museums and the Uzbekistan Art and Culture Development Foundation (ACDF) embark on a five-year collaboration aligned with the principles of the Years of Culture initiative.
According to Qatar News Agency, CCA Tashkent is housed in a reimagined industrial building from 1912 and opened to the public on 6 September as a multidisciplinary platform for contemporary art, research, and cultural exchange. During the inauguration, Her Excellency toured the Centre and viewed its inaugural group exhibition, Hikmah. The exhibition brings together artists from Uzbekistan and around the world to explore themes of wisdom, spirit, and material transformation, responding to the architectural memory of the building and its evolution into a contemporary cultural space.
HE Sheikha Al Mayassa stated, "Meaningful cultural exchange is reciprocal and sustained. Exhibitions introduce histories and creative practices to new audiences, residencies give artists the time and context to develop new work, and institutions give these relationships continuity. The opening of CCA Tashkent strengthens that shared foundation and reflects the spirit of sustained exchange at the heart of the Years of Culture initiative."
Her Excellency's visit follows the opening of two exhibitions at the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha earlier this week: Uzbekistan: Heritage in Motion and Ektashif: Uzbekistan. Organized by the Museum of Islamic Art in collaboration with ACDF, Uzbekistan: Heritage in Motion explores over 1,000 years of Uzbekistan's artistic and cultural heritage, featuring historical and contemporary works, manuscripts, architectural elements, textiles, ceramics, and jewellery from collections in Qatar and institutions across Uzbekistan.
Ektashif: Uzbekistan, presented alongside it, showcases new works by seven Qatari artists following a research-led artistic journey to Tashkent, Samarkand, and Bukhara in 2025. The exhibitions reflect the reciprocal nature of the relationship, introducing audiences in Qatar to Uzbekistan's heritage and creative traditions while enabling Qatari artists to experience and translate those encounters into new work.
Coinciding with these exhibitions is a new five-year cooperation agreement between Qatar Museums and ACDF, formalized earlier this week. The agreement establishes a long-term platform for shared research, joint artistic projects, capacity building, and Islamic heritage conservation. Its program will encompass artist residencies, professional training, and collaborative exhibitions, alongside initiatives in design, craft, film, fashion, and culinary arts.
The role of residencies and creative mobility within this wider cultural ecosystem was also highlighted in Her Excellency's visit to BENCHELLAL, MONUMENTAL | "Sculpting Past Tomorrow" at the State Museum of History of Uzbekistan. The exhibition presents new sculptural work by Dutch-Moroccan designer and artist Mohamed Benchellal, developed during his 2025 artistic residency in Tashkent and inspired by Uzbekistan's architecture, cultural landscapes, and historical forms.
Benchellal's creative journey underscores the value of sustained support in connecting talent, institutions, and cultures. Following his 2021 Fashion Trust Arabia Evening Wear award, he spent over two years as a resident at Liwan Design Studios and Labs in Doha, exploring Qatar's materials, landscapes, and architecture, with the work developed during that period presented at the National Museum of Qatar in 2024.
During her visit to Tashkent, HE the Chairperson of Qatar Museums also visited the studio of textile artist Madina Kasimbaeva and the Gozar of Artisans, where she learned about creative practices rooted in Uzbekistan's living traditions of textiles, embroidery, ceramics, wood carving, and metalwork.