Gayane Umerova Leads Uzbekistan Cultural Renaissance
Gayane Umerova directs a major cultural expansion in Tashkent and Bukhara during late 2025 and early 2026.
New Museums Open In September
The Centre for Contemporary Arts Tashkent opened its doors in September. This facility marks the nation's first permanent contemporary art museum. Earlier this year, ten Soviet modernist buildings in the capital received UNESCO World Heritage status. These structures became the youngest protected sites globally during the summer of 2025.
Biennial Attracts Half Locals
An inaugural biennial took place last fall in the ancient city of Bukhara. The event drew a total of 1.8 million visitors to the historic location. Gayane Umerova noted that exactly half of these attendees were domestic travelers. She stated that people now travel from Kokand to visit Bukhara for culture rather than just relatives.
State Support Drives Growth
Umerova serves as Head of the Department of Creative Economy and Tourism under the President. She also chairs the Uzbekistan Art and Culture Development Foundation which she founded in 2017. The administration credits President Shavkat Mirziyoyev for providing the necessary investment to start these projects. More than half of the country's 39 million people are under thirty years old as of July 2026.
Reported by one outlet
Only one outlet has published this. Nothing here has been checked against a second report, so read it as that outlet's account and follow the link below for the original.
Reported by
1 independent outlet. Headline as published. Links open the original report.