Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- The Art and Culture Development Foundation of Uzbekistan presents the exhibition project Crafting Uzbekistan: Tradition in Threads at the Doha Design Biennale. The visitors will see a combination of the rich craft traditions of Uzbekistan and modern creativity. The exhibition was opened on 24 February 2024 and promises to be a journey into the vibrant world of handicrafts in Uzbekistan.

Crafting Uzbekistan: Tradition in Threads aligns with the Doha Design Biennale’s goals of celebrating artistic diversity and supporting creative innovation. The exhibition showcases the rich history and diversity of wood and textile crafts, as well as the skill and talent of their creators. Visitors can see items made from wood, ikat silk and bakhmal fabric. The exhibition plays an important role in promoting global cultural exchange and the emergence of artistic innovation.

The Foundation was invited to take part in the Biennale to showcase the craft heritage of Uzbekistan.

“I am pleased to note our participation in an event where best practices in the field of design are exchanged at all levels, both local, regional and global. In the exhibition project Crafting Uzbekistan: Tradition in Threads, we showed a combination of the rich craft traditions of Uzbekistan and modern creativity. After all, the craft heritage, rooted in history, makes us custodians of unique traditions and culture,” said Assistant to the President of Uzbekistan Saida Mirziyoyeva.

“We invited the Art and Culture Development Foundation of Uzbekistan as one of the strategic partners of the Doha Design Biennale. This collaboration will help realize one of the Biennale’s most important goals - to give visitors a broad overview of the creative potential of designers from the Middle East and North Africa. Our goal is to present design as an amazing combination of heritage and innovation. And the exhibition project Crafting Uzbekistan is an indispensable thread in this fabric,” - Sheikha Al-Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, Head of the Qatar Museums Authority, said.

To support the Doha Design Biennale’s core theme: Celebration of Regional Design Excellence, the Foundation is collaborating with Bahrain-based studio Shepherd to create innovative and contemporary exhibition design. Using a unique conceptual approach of “optical weaving”, which uses 31,000 lenticular names and 26 million threads, visitors will be immersed in the atmosphere of traditional crafts of Uzbekistan. The concept of the exhibition is designed to highlight the aesthetic qualities of the space, especially emphasizing the originality of colors.

“We were delighted to receive an invitation to participate in the Doha Design Biennale. Our exhibition project is a harmonious combination of cultural traditions and craft heritage of Uzbekistan with advanced modern technologies, reflecting the main theme of the Biennale. Our project team took exceptional care to showcase traditional crafts including hand weaving and wood carving. This project includes innovative approaches that allow visitors to see Uzbekistan from a new angle - as a country that carefully preserves its historical roots, while introducing and using the most advanced technologies,” Gayane Umerova, Chairman of the Art and Culture Development Foundation of Uzbekistan noted.

The exhibition will feature 49 handmade items, including a collaboration between designer Nada Debs and Uzbek artist Sirojiddin Rakhmatillaev.

In their collaboration, they present visitors with a modern interpretation of traditional furniture elements. The collaboration between Nada and Sirojiddin is the result of a fusion of traditional craftsmanship with contemporary design, demonstrating the evolution in the art of Uzbekistan.

“By creating a modern take on a traditional trestle table piece that Master Sirojiddin is renowned for working on and has over 50 years of experience, I felt I could bring a new approach to a traditional method. His receptivity to new ideas was truly inspiring and gave me creative freedom without restrictions. In addition, it is very interesting to see the connection between the crafts of the Arab world and Uzbekistan. I feel like it’s like a time capsule where craft reflects history and the exchange of ideas between cultures." - Nada Debs, designer.

Crafting Uzbekistan: Tradition in Threads will explore the depth and richness of Uzbekistan’s cultural heritage through a lens that connects the past with the present.

“Creating the future: exploring the intersection of craft and design to create the future” is the theme of the outreach program of the Doha Design Biennale. Discussions will focus on the synergy between traditional craft and contemporary design, and the transformative role of design in social contexts and national development.

On 25 February, the public discussion “Creating the Future: Exploring the Intersection of Craft and Design to Create the Future” will feature Qatari designer Abdulrahman Al Muftah; Manager for the Development of Arts and Academics of the Royal Commission for Al-Ula Hamad Alhomidan and Head of the Department of Cultural Cooperation of the Foundation for the Development of Culture and Art of Uzbekistan Azizbek Mannopov. The talk will be moderated by renowned design consultant and strategic advisor Cyril Zammit.

Panelists will talk about the evolution of craftsmanship in different cultural landscapes and the impact of modern technology on traditional art. The purpose of the discussion is to explore the evolution of crafts and their impact on society, culture and the economy in order to stimulate new approaches to integrating design into public policy and national development strategies.