This fall, the city of Bukhara, an ancient Asia that has been a stop on the Silk Road for centuries (with a 4,000-mile trade route across the continent), will once again become a vibrant hub for cultural exchange. For 10 weeks starting September 5th, Uzbek will be holding its first Art Biennale. The event brings together international artists such as British sculptor Anthony Gormley and Colombian interdisciplinary artist Delsi Morelos, as well as international artists including Ceramic Master Abdulvahid Budulvahid Budulvid and others for the easpecification of Ceramic Master Abdulvahid Budulvahid Budulvid.
Commissioned by the Uzbekistan Art and Culture Development Foundation, the Bukhara Biennale is overseen by American curator Diana Campbell. (Maria Obama and Spanish pop star Rosalia are both worn out.) “When you tie a square of fabric around something, the space around the knot forms the shape of the petal,” Kim recently explained in front of a new boutique in Chars Bazaar, the oldest market in Tashkent, Uzbekistan's capital. She calls these details Tagung – the words are translated into English “bundles” – because they were inspired by the fabrics that Uzbeks often use to transport their belongings. They also refer to the long journey in the west that her grandparents made in the 1930s. Kim is a designer “thinking like an artist,” Campbell said, adding that she was drawn to the way Kim's work reflected the history of Korean immigrants in Uzbekistan.
Earlier this month, the two women cooperated to gather at Kim's shop in honour of both the upcoming biennale in Bukhara, about 350 miles northeast, about 350 miles in Tashkent, and the Persian New Year, widely celebrated in Uzbekistan, around spring equestrian affairs. Kim sends each guest a Google Maps pin to help them find a boutique hidden by a food stall selling everything from vegetables to sneakers. After everyone explored the space and got caught up in food outside, she gave each guest a small drawstring pouch and led the group to the giant dome-shaped main building in the bazaar. On the second floor they stopped at the food stall of merchant Shamshakruazizov, where he stuffed the visitors with spices for them to return home.
Participants: Among the group of 12 people was a Korean Zen Buddhist nun and chef Jeong Kwan (68). Campbell invited Kwan to Uzbekistan to create a project for the Biennale, and the next day the chef headed to Bukhara for a site visit, joining three other party guests. Daria Kim, a multidisciplinary artist from Uzbekistan, Korea; 26; Gulnoza Irgasheva, 27, a Uzbek video artist. Also present was Wael Al Awar, 47, an architect at Dubai and Tokyo-based Waiwai Studios, who oversees architecture for every other year. The event is inspiring “repairing Bukhara's most important historic buildings, its mosques, Madrasas (Islamic schools) and Caravan Ali (Roadside Inn).”
Settings: On display within Kim's store (a dimly 375 square feet of space with dark wooden shelves and panels of dense plant-format wallpaper) – was some of her collaborations, including ceramic whistles made after the bird and ceramic buds of pills. She described the store as a “fantasy space inspired by anime and Narnia,” but for the party she wanted decorations and food to reflect the arrival of spring. Pomegranate bowls, symbolizing fertility in many traditions, were all scattered everywhere, branded with the letters “jk” and “bbbb” for Kim's brands and “jk” which means the Biennale of Bukhara. Just outside the entrance, a large tiered table similar to that used by the vendors at Chorsu Bazaar was set with two swan-shaped straw baskets filled with appetizers and seasonal vegetables.
Food: Kim worked with Uzbek chef Vladimir Kogai and Ekaterina Enilliva, director of Di Gavi Restaurant in Tashkent, to create a snack that looks like a sculpture of surrealists. They made samsas filled with pumpkin, and made delicious pastries, usually baked in tandoors, balls of hummus and cart. Arranged on the second table were desserts that contained chakkaku, crispy pieces of fried dough soaked in honey, and a sweet paste made from germinated wheat eaten at the Knowles celebration.
Drinks: When guests arrived, the server rinsed their hands at the station with a jug. Ritual hand washing is still a common tradition in Uzbekistan. Afterwards, each person was served a glass of freshly squeezed pomegranate juice. After the sun set, the group was warmed with a cup of Sencha and Assam Mellenti.
Music: Ethereal flute music played gently by Ukrainian composer Nastia Vogan on a boutique speaker. She “want to tell the guests that they are entering a different world,” she said. Outside the market, spring birds wafted from the roof of the building. “When I grew up in Tashkent, there were actually more birds,” says Kim, and the installation of Biennial, which she produces at the blacksmith Zokhir Kamalov in Uzbek, hints at a declining bird population in Bukhara.
Conversation: Several guests reflected on their visit to the world's largest collection of Korean Uzbek art earlier in the day. The work, accumulated over 20 years by entrepreneur Kim Anatoly, age 63, is set up around his vast office complex in Bukhara, with a range of areas ranging from metal sculptures by artist Tian Jennady to painter Alexander Lee's canvas. “When I was growing up, I was a bit embarrassed by it and how he displayed it everywhere,” said Artist Kim, Anatoly's daughter. She currently animates several paintings from his collection to create biennial video works.
Funny Tip: Campbell always likes to invite people who gather unexpected people. “I treat parties like recipes and guests like ingredients,” she said. “When there's an element of surprise, it's a good party.”
