October 23, 2011
Tashkent plunged into cultural frenzy as Style.Uz Art Week, a major cultural project that has no parallel elsewhere in the world, kicked off today at the Youth Creativity Palace. With a kaleidoscopic diversity of events such as art exhibitions, fashion shows, master classes, contests, conferences with celebrities and afterparties, Style.Uz Art Week 2011 promises to become another exciting page in the cultural life of the country.
The Week kicked off with the Tashkent International Biennale of Contemporary Art, drawing nearly 3 thousand people despite a rainy day in an otherwise sunny country. Housed across the two floors of the Palace are exhibitions of photography, design, fashion as well as unusual installations. For six days in a row, camera lenses will be following the multitude of guests and participants of “the Event of 2011”. One of the Fund Forum’s most far-reaching projects, Style.Uz brings together motley crowds of people united in their love for exquisite art.
The 6th Tashkent International Biennale of Contemporary Art offers a string of major exhibitions. Following welcome speeches at the opening ceremony the sizable art-loving crowd scattered across the three showrooms on the first floor of the Youth Creativity Palace to see what this year’s Biennale has to offer.
On display are an exhibition of Spanish Catalan painter Joan Miró and contemporary Spanish impressionists Luis Amer, Martin Carral and Jorge Núñez; an exhibition of prominent Russian photo artist Igor Vishnyakov; and “The World of Fabergé” International Exhibition of Contemporary Art.
The international celebrities who attended the opening ceremony today include Hollywood actors Matthias Hues, famous Russian TV journalist Andrei Malakhov as well as the participants of Golden Guepard Tashkent International Cinema Forum: German film critic Hans Schlegel, animator Andrei Khrzhanovsky, film director Sergei Solovyov, TV journalist Sergei Sholokhov as well as artists showing at the Biennale, members of the diplomatic corps, Uzbek cinema professionals and talented young people among others.
The second floor of the Palace offers “Reconstruction: Cultural Heritage and the Making of Contemporary Fashion”, an international touring exhibition presented by the British Council. The exhibition celebrates the work of seven leading British designers: Hussein Chalayan, Peter Jensen, Sophia Kokosalaki, Marios Schwab, Paul Smith, Vivienne Westwood and Osman Yousefzada. Nearby was a site that hosted a master class by London College of Fashion.
The first day of Art Week also included a joint concert by two prominent Russian musicians, opera star Dmitri Hvorostovsky and composer Igor Krutoy. Titled Déjà vu, the concert included songs in French, Italian and Russian. The performance by Hvorostovsky, a baritone, accompanied by a live orchestra and choir, added loftiness to the atmosphere while a large screen featuring designer slides in the background lent a touch of artistic glitz to the evening.
They day concluded with a charity gala dinner, a fundraiser in support of 25 breast cancer patients slated to be provided with free medication and treatment. During the gala dinner Gulnara Karimova, the chairperson of the Fund Forum’s Board of Trustees, presented free ultrasound equipment certificates to the representatives of cancer clinics in Uzbek regions and the Republic of Karakalpakstan. The organizers of the gala dinner include the Fund Forum, the Women’s Council and “In the Name of Life” National Breast Cancer Association.
A number of exquisite pieces by Yves Saint Laurent, Kamishima Chinami and Guli labels went under the hammer at a charity auction held as part of the gala dinner. Hosted by prominent Russian TV host Andrei Malakhov, the auction helped raise funds for the purchase of medications for women diagnosed with breast cancer.
Style.Uz Art Week is a project devised as a cultural extravaganza for all those interested in the latest trends in local and global culture and art, an opportunity to see Uzbek traditions blend with global culture. This is a celebration of art, a flight of imagination, new opportunities, exciting meetings and pleasant surprises that make up this far-reaching project. It is an opportunity for every talented person to demonstrate their artistic achievements at events held as part of the Art Week as evidenced by the successful shows of established and budding Uzbek designers, artists, art critics, actors, journalists, choreographers, photographers, musicians and film directors at previous Weeks.
Style.Uz, which this year has been given the slogan mix of colors, dreams and emotions, is bound to become another big page in its history nurtured by the colors of Uzbek fabrics, unique Uzbek culture, the hospitality of Uzbek people and the power of Uzbek art. And, most importantly, year after year its colors are becoming brighter and its events more interesting while instilling confidence in all those who are able to dream, create and bring joy to other people.
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Act four