The British Council in Uzbekistan pays great attention to the projects in visual arts. We organise the exhibitions of British artists in Uzbekistan, contribute to development of connections between the British and Uzbekistan galleries and museums, invite British artists and experts in the area of arts and culture to participate in joint projects.
The British Council in collaboration with national partners regularly organises and supports educational events in arts, from forums with the leading artists, curators and museum specialists to practical education of young specialists.
Education and Art for sustainable development:
British Council Uzbekistan, Arts and Culture Development Foundation under the Ministry of culture and the Delegation of European Union in Tashkent launched art-residency programme on ceramics “Arts for Sustainable Development
Partners:
- Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Uzbekistan
- Fund for art and culture development
- Key ceramics studios in Uzbekistan
- Uzbek state Institute of Art and Culture ( including artists, arts critics and researchers)
- National Art Gallery
- Museum of Applied Art
- British Council
- EU Delegation in Uzbekistan
- Leach Pottery, Cornwell
- Welsh Arts Council tbc
- Uzbekistan Embassy in London
The programme brought together such British artists as Matthew Foster from Leach Pottery, Lindy Martin and Jacob Chan from Carmarthen School of Art, Eva Skalla, art scientist, and well-known masters from Tashkent, Rishtan, Andijan, Samarkand, Gijduvan, Shakhrisabz, Gilon and Khorezm.
The aim of the project:
- To raise awareness of and engagement in sustainability and empower people to live and work in a way that makes a positive impact on the world around them
- To initiate partnerships between art students and professionals in Uzbekistan and overseas to explore how art contributes to sustainable development and how this may inform modern art development
- To mainstream sustainable development goals in national arts and education programmes
- To develop and support the next generation of cultural relations and environmental leaders
To explore the rich cultural history of Uzbek ceramics the artists from the UK visited the most famous schools of ceramics in Tashkent, Fergana, Samarkand and Bukhara and met the masters who still keep the ancient traditions. The TV crew of the national channel 'Dunyo Bo'ylab' also joined the tour and filmed the exciting journey.
The key elements of a project:
- Exchange of artists/residencies, pottery and ceramics being key areas
- Sustainable development and art being a key theme for artists to explore
- Collaborative workshops in Uzbekistan
- Engagement with education sector: we will involve students of Art and Design Institute in master classes, research and publication/film production
- Collaboration will lead to exhibitions both in Uzbekistan and UK
- Digital campaign to tell partnership story and share experience/knowledge around pottery/ceramics in both countries
- Films talking about the history of pottery in the UK and ceramics in Uzbekistan and then about outcomes of collaboration ( things you find in common/differences)
- Potential to engage with other countries