TASHKENT: Uzbekistan’s Center for Contemporary Art (CCA) officially opens in the Uzbek capital in March 2026, but its programming and groundwork have already begun — and a Saudi artist is a major part of this unfolding journey.
The CCA — billed as the first institution of its kind in Central Asia — is helmed by artistic director and chief curator, Sara Raza, a London-born, New York–based curator, writer, and educator.
“I’ve been one of the few curators for the last 20 years looking at the post-Soviet space — particularly Central Asia, Caucasus, and the Middle East,” Raza told Arab News. “A lot of my work is respectfully looking at the dialogue between East-East.”
In time for spring 2026, the CCA will launch two major annual initiatives: the multidisciplinary Navruz Gala and the citywide Tashkent Public Art Festival, as well as two landmark exhibitions, the first of which — “Hikmah” (the Uzbek, Farsi and Arabic word for wisdom) — will bring together major contemporary art voices including Saudi multidisciplinary artist and curator Muhannad Shono.
Shono was an artist-in-residence at the CCA in May this year, and the results of his time there will be showcased in “Hikmah.”
“Muhannad was invited as one of the residents because part of my work is also to encourage collaboration within the context of allowing an artist to just think,” Raza said. “I’m really fortunate that I’ve worked with living artists and I have a practice where I’ve often worked with artists. I interviewed him and I got to really get inside his mind, so that’s why he was invited.”
As part of his research for the residency, Shono visited The Sun Heliocomplex near Tashkent — a Soviet-era solar furnace in the Parkent district that concentrates sunlight for high-temperature material research.
“He’s somebody who works with these materials like carbon — he’s interested in the notion of the sun, water, filtration, so he’s making us something very scientific and special,” Raza said.
The CCA will be housed in Tashkent’s first diesel power station, constructed in 1912 to electrify the city’s tramline. More than a century later, French architects Studio KO have preserved its industrial structure while transforming the interior into a versatile venue. Much in the vein of Saudi Arabia’s King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture (Ithra) — built on the site of Oil Well No. 7, where the Kingdom first struck black gold — the CCA has shifted from generating mechanical power to generating art and culture, activating the land in a new way.
Designed by Wilhelm Heinzelmann, the architect behind landmarks such as the Palace of Grand Duke Romanov and the Treasury Chamber, the building stands as a testament to Tashkent’s architectural heritage.
“We’re still in the last phase of construction at CCA. But it’s more than a building—it’s also about programming and audience,” Raza said. “I’m deeply excited because I’ve been working towards this for 20 years, and I get to do something that has personal significance for me.”
She is quick to credit the chairperson of the Uzbekistan Art and Culture Development Foundation, Gayane Umerova, for her support. The pair have known each other for many years, having met when Umerova was a student at Sotheby’s Institute of Art in London, where Raza was teaching.
“She’s been supportive of me, I’ve been supportive of her. We’re peers, we’re friends, we ideate, and I have deep admiration for what she’s achieved. She was born here, a native Tashkent person, with a country that has such a young population. And I know how to speak to younger people” Raza said.
“And it was really important for me as somebody who’s going to build something — it’s not just for today and tomorrow; it’s for the long haul. I get to be part of that journey and establish the foundation for it.”
As part of the CCA’s programming, this month saw the launch of Clubistan, the CCA’s youth-led program for 16-21-year-olds, curated with Raza and a 19-year-old student. Raza will also later launch CCA Radio, a bi-weekly show including DJ sets, instrumental performances and hybrid formats.
Umerova said of the upcoming CCA opening: “The CCA is the realization of a long-term vision to firmly position Uzbekistan at the heart of global cultural dialogue. Now, with the launch of the center, that vision comes to life through a pioneering program that connects contemporary creativity with cultural legacy on an international stage.”
