Tashkent Modernism. Index is the first public exhibition developed as part of the
Tashkent Modernism XX/XXI initiative, presenting an extensive body of research dedicated to documenting, interpreting, and preserving Tashkent's modernist architectural heritage.
Through contemporary photography, archival documents, architectural drawings, historical publications, and original research, the exhibition explores the stories behind twenty of Tashkent's most significant modernist buildings. Together, these materials reveal how architecture shaped the city's identity during the second half of the twentieth century while examining broader questions of heritage, memory, urban transformation, and preservation.
Conceived as both a research exhibition and a public platform, Tashkent Modernism. Index invites visitors to reconsider Central Asian modernism within the wider history of twentieth-century architecture and to reflect on the future of its preservation.
THE INTERNATIONAL DEBUT
Tashkent Modernism. Index made its international debut at Triennale Milano from 17–23 April 2023, introducing the Tashkent Modernism XX/XXI initiative to a global audience of architects, designers, researchers, and cultural professionals.
Commissioned by the ACDF, the exhibition was curated by Ekaterina Golovatyuk and designed by the Milan-based studio GRACE. Bringing together two years of interdisciplinary research, it featured newly commissioned photography by Armin Linke, archival material, and scholarly contributions exploring the architectural, social, and cultural history of post-war Tashkent.
The exhibition was accompanied by a public programme of talks and lectures hosted by Triennale Milano, where architects, historians, researchers, and curators expanded on the themes presented in the exhibition. Together, these conversations explored modernist heritage, preservation, urban transformation, and Tashkent's place within global architectural history.
THE TASHKENT PRESENTATION
Following its international premiere, Tashkent Modernism. Index opened at the State Museum of Arts of Uzbekistan from 18 October to 3 December 2023, marking the exhibition's first presentation in Uzbekistan.
Presented alongside Where in the World Is Tashkent: The First Conference on Tashkent's Modernist Architecture, the expanded exhibition introduced the project's research to local audiences while building upon the original Milan presentation. New materials—including original archival documents and artworks from the museum's collections dating from the 1960s–1980s—placed Tashkent's modernist architecture within its broader artistic and cultural context.
Together, the exhibition and conference created the first public platform dedicated to documenting, discussing, and advancing the preservation of Tashkent's twentieth-century architectural heritage, establishing a foundation for continued research and international collaboration.