From the Silk Road to South Kensington, Uzbekistan contemporary craftwork arrives at London’s Victoria and Albert Museum, albeit for just one evening (1 September, 18:30-20:20).
Entitled ‘Uzbekistan: Community, Culture and Contemporary Craft’, the talk event is part of the V&A’s ‘Culture in Crisis Programme’ in collaboration with the museum’s Middle East Section. It will “explore the landscape of contemporary craft in Uzbekistan, discussing the importance of sustainable heritage practices, commercial opportunities for makers, and the role of the fashion industry”.
The conversation will be set in the context of the V&A’s collection of objects from Uzbekistan, alongside recent and upcoming projects related to the country.”
The discussion will be headlined by Charos and Timur Kamalov, co-founders of Teplo Store in Uzbekistan’s capital city, Tashkent, which has built a network of over 200 collaborators including designers and artisans from across the Central Asian nation, Fuchsia Hart, the Sarikhani curator for the Iranian collection, V&A, and Laura Searson, Culture Heritage Preservation Lead, V&A, as moderator.
Together they will examine how “design and fashion can spearhead cultural diplomacy in the modern world in the context of sustainability and commercial opportunity”.
Timur Kamalov said: “Independent designers need more exposure, as their voices are often lost in the noise of multi-million marketing campaigns by established labels. “I am grateful [for] the chance to highlight the value of independent creativity in today’s fashion landscape.”
