Uzbekistan launches first Contemporary Arts Centre
The Centre for Contemporary Arts Tashkent (CCA) in Uzbekistan is housed in a former tram depot and diesel station dating back to 1912, reimagined by Paris-based Studio KO. The project is the first permanent institution for contemporary art and research in Central Asia, launching its first-year program and the announcement of its inaugural exhibition, Hikmah, set to open in March 2026.
The inaugural exhibition Hikmah, meaning wisdom in Uzbek, will gather a wide roster of voices, from Ali Cherri and Kimsooja to Nadia Kaabi-Linke, Muhannad Shono, Nari Ward, and Tarik Kiswanson, alongside Uzbek and Karakalpak artists including Shokhrukh Rakhimov, Vladimir Pan, Daribay Saipov, and Bakhtiyar Saipov. Works on view will include Kaabi-Linke’s Flying Carpets, on loan from the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum; Kimsooja’s participatory Archive of Mind; and new commissions developed through the CCA residency program (find designboom’s previous coverage here). A parallel music program will range from Sufi chants to electronic soundscapes, extending the theme of wisdom into sonic traditions.
aerial view of Centre for Contemporary Arts in Tashkent (CCA) | all renders © Studio KO, courtesy of the Uzbekistan Art and Culture Development Foundation (ACDF), unless stated otherwise
Studio KO Reimagines Tashkent’s Tram Depot
Led by the Uzbekistan Art and Culture Development Foundation (ACDF) under Chairperson Gayane Umerova, the CCA aims to connect local heritage with international cultural production. The institution is steered by Artistic Director and Chief Curator Dr. Sara Raza, who brings two decades of curatorial experience across Central Asia, the Middle East, North Africa, and their diasporas. Her vision grounds the center in Tashkent’s history as a crossroads of Global Majority thinkers and artists, while opening it to contemporary debates.
The adaptive reuse of the CCA building plays a central role in the project’s identity. Designed by Wilhelm Heinzelmann, the early 20th-century structure once powered Tashkent’s first tram line and electricity network. Studio KO’s architects Karl Fournier and Olivier Marty describe their intervention as giving the industrial shell a ‘new poetic life,’ working with local materials and motifs to create spaces for evolving artistic encounters.
view on the diesel station facade
Public Art Festival to Define CCA’s Annual Programming
Programming begins in September 2025, with the CCA Artist Residencies, which since 2024 have welcomed international and regional creatives. The 2025 cohort includes sound artist Sarni El-Enany, fashion designer Paria Farzaneh, art historian Vivek Gupta, Afghan miniature painter Jamila Sadat, and Bangkok-based Uzbek artist Dishon Yuldash.
Looking ahead, the CCA will anchor its calendar with two annual initiatives: the multidisciplinary Navruz Gala and the citywide Tashkent Public Art Festival.
closeup on the renovated brick facade | image © BCDF Studio, courtesy of the Uzbekistan Art and Culture Development Foundation (ACDF)
diesel station exhibition space
workshop
lobby reception
