Kulapat Yantrasast Takes the Helm of Bukhara Biennial 2027
Uzbekistan
In Basel, Switzerland, on the sidelines of the prestigious international art week Art Basel, the Fondation Beyeler museum hosted a panel discussion titled "Building Cultural Bridges." The event marked the first public appearance of the newly appointed Artistic Director of the Bukhara Biennial 2027, the world-renowned architect Kulapat Yantrasast.
The discussion on the future of one of Central Asia's largest cultural initiatives featured Gayane Umerova, Chairperson of the Art and Culture Development Foundation of Uzbekistan (ACDF) and Biennial Commissioner, Chris Derkon, Managing Director of the Fondation Cartier, and international strategist Dr. Aliya Al-Senussi, who moderated the session.
Uzbekistan's emergence into leading positions within the global cultural landscape and the integration of its national craft heritage into contemporary international artistic processes have received a powerful institutional impetus. This has been achieved by attracting top-tier museum architecture figures and establishing interdisciplinary expert platforms.
The second edition of the Bukhara Biennial, scheduled to run from September 3 to November 21, 2027, will significantly expand its geographical footprint across the urban environment, opening previously inaccessible architectural complexes to the general public. Projects, installations, and research laboratories will be situated within restored caravan-serais, medieval madrasahs, historical hammams, and public squares of Bukhara, which is recognized by UNESCO as a World City of Crafts. A defining characteristic of the new concept is its profound interdisciplinary framework: the project will transcend the boundaries of a traditional art exhibition by uniting international artists and Uzbek master artisans with environmentalists, urban planners, economists, and historians on a singular platform. All exhibition pieces will be produced directly within Uzbekistan, leveraging local knowledge and living cultural traditions. This strategy builds upon the tremendous success of the inaugural 2025 biennial, which showcased over 70 collaborative projects and attracted a record 1.8 million visitors.
The appointment of Kulapat Yantrasast, founder of WHY Architecture, recipient of the 2026 Art Basel Awards, and a disciple of Pritzker Prize laureate Tadao Ando, elevates the project's international standing to an entirely new echelon. Yantrasast, celebrated for his designs for the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Louvre, and the National Museum of India in New Delhi, previously collaborated with ACDF during the Milan Design Week 2026 on the When Apricots Blossom exhibition. To anchor the Bukhara Biennial's global integration, an international Advisory Board has been established for the first time, comprising executives and curators from major global institutions, including the Diriyah Biennale Foundation (Saudi Arabia), the Michelangelo Foundation (Italy), the Delfina Foundation (UK), and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA, USA).
The biennial serves as an integral component of the comprehensive master plan for the revitalization of Bukhara, developed by the Wilmotte & Associés architectural firm at the initiative of the Art and Culture Development Foundation of Uzbekistan. This initiative is fully synchronized with ACDF's broader state strategy to cultivate a modern creative ecosystem. Within this framework, the Foundation—whose exhibition projects across 17 countries have already drawn over 5 million visitors—is overseeing the launch of the Center for Contemporary Art in Tashkent in September 2026, alongside the construction of the new National Museum of Uzbekistan designed by Tadao Ando.
Uzbekistan's emergence into leading positions within the global cultural landscape and the integration of its national craft heritage into contemporary international artistic processes have received a powerful institutional impetus. This has been achieved by attracting top-tier museum architecture figures and establishing interdisciplinary expert platforms.
The second edition of the Bukhara Biennial, scheduled to run from September 3 to November 21, 2027, will significantly expand its geographical footprint across the urban environment, opening previously inaccessible architectural complexes to the general public. Projects, installations, and research laboratories will be situated within restored caravan-serais, medieval madrasahs, historical hammams, and public squares of Bukhara, which is recognized by UNESCO as a World City of Crafts. A defining characteristic of the new concept is its profound interdisciplinary framework: the project will transcend the boundaries of a traditional art exhibition by uniting international artists and Uzbek master artisans with environmentalists, urban planners, economists, and historians on a singular platform. All exhibition pieces will be produced directly within Uzbekistan, leveraging local knowledge and living cultural traditions. This strategy builds upon the tremendous success of the inaugural 2025 biennial, which showcased over 70 collaborative projects and attracted a record 1.8 million visitors.
The appointment of Kulapat Yantrasast, founder of WHY Architecture, recipient of the 2026 Art Basel Awards, and a disciple of Pritzker Prize laureate Tadao Ando, elevates the project's international standing to an entirely new echelon. Yantrasast, celebrated for his designs for the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Louvre, and the National Museum of India in New Delhi, previously collaborated with ACDF during the Milan Design Week 2026 on the When Apricots Blossom exhibition. To anchor the Bukhara Biennial's global integration, an international Advisory Board has been established for the first time, comprising executives and curators from major global institutions, including the Diriyah Biennale Foundation (Saudi Arabia), the Michelangelo Foundation (Italy), the Delfina Foundation (UK), and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA, USA).
The biennial serves as an integral component of the comprehensive master plan for the revitalization of Bukhara, developed by the Wilmotte & Associés architectural firm at the initiative of the Art and Culture Development Foundation of Uzbekistan. This initiative is fully synchronized with ACDF's broader state strategy to cultivate a modern creative ecosystem. Within this framework, the Foundation—whose exhibition projects across 17 countries have already drawn over 5 million visitors—is overseeing the launch of the Center for Contemporary Art in Tashkent in September 2026, alongside the construction of the new National Museum of Uzbekistan designed by Tadao Ando.
Powered by Froala Editor