Conserving Tashkent's modernist architecture is a way of boosting the city's international profile, Uzbekistan Art and Culture Development Foundation chair Gayane Umerova tells Dezeen in this interview.
The Uzbekistan Art and Culture Development Foundation is leading the preservation of more than 20 impressive Soviet-era modernist buildings in the Uzbek capital, Tashkent.
"The foundation was set up for cultural diplomacy"
The conservation effort forms part a strategy led by president Shavkat Mirziyoyev to build awareness of the central Asian country's cultural assets beyond the tourist hotspots of Bukhara and Samarkand. "The foundation was set up for cultural diplomacy in a way, because we were formed by the president's initiative in 2017," Umerova told Dezeen.
"At the time, the president realised that there wasn't a lot of information about Uzbekistan culture overseas, and it was mainly connected to the historical cities ? Bukhara and Samarkand."
The Uzbekistan Art and Culture Development Foundation, which is part of the government, was established following Mirziyoyev's election in 2016 with the aim of protecting and promoting the country's art and culture.
...