Tselinny Center of Contemporary Culture is hosting Himoya: Matrilineal Energies, Oracular Kin, an international exhibition curated by Natasha Ginwala. Bringing together artists from Central Asia and other parts of the world, the exhibition opened on October 15 and runs until April 4, 2027.
The project asks how knowledge, family stories and everyday practices pass between generations. Artists explore these connections through sculpture, textiles, video, sound and installation. The organisers associate the title Himoya with ideas of protection and care.
Participants include Almagul Menlibayeva, Aziza Kadyri, Umida Akhmedova, Haegue Yang and Nara Beibit. The exhibition combines existing works with new commissions created specifically for the project.
One of these, Aziza Kadyri’s Iron Mother, draws on the story of her grandmother Umida, who helped oversee the construction of the Tashkent TV Tower and became its first director. Kadyri brings family memories into an interactive installation resembling a television studio and control room.
Research and learning programmes, workshops and meetings accompany the exhibition, extending its exploration of how personal memory becomes part of a shared cultural history.
