Uzbekistan's debut national presentation at Milan Design Week has received critical recognition, with When Apricots Blossom shortlisted for the Fuorisalone Award for Best Installation and receiving a Special Mention from media critics.
© ACDF
Commissioned by Gayane Umerova and curated by Kulapat Yantrasast, the exhibition ran from 20–26 April at Palazzo Citterio and attracted 25,000 visitors over seven days.
Presented by the Uzbekistan Art and Culture Development Foundation, the project brought international attention to Karakalpakstan and the wider Aral Sea region, where communities have been shaped by the environmental decline of the sea over the past six decades.
The Special Mention Media Partners Award praised the installation "for creating a project rich in meaning and substance, establishing a dialogue between the space and the content that invites visitors to immerse themselves in the installation".
The exhibition explored craft as a living system of knowledge rather than static heritage, highlighting contemporary interpretations of bread-making, yurt-building and textile-weaving traditions from Uzbekistan.
Visitors encountered three major installations, including a yurt-inspired Garden Pavilion by WHY Architecture, a threshold installation by Bethan Laura Wood and collaborators, and a series of bread stamps and trays created by 12 designers.
Gayane Umerova said: "Our intention this week was for the Aral Sea to be recognised not only as a site of loss, but as a lens through which design considers broader questions of climate, culture and responsibility."
She added that the integration of the Aral School, Aral Culture Summit and the film Where the Water Ends reflected the organisation's long-term commitment to the region.
Kulapat Yantrasast described the project as the beginning of a longer collaboration. "What we presented is not craft of the past, but the trajectory of what the future of craft should be – essential, regenerative, resilient and alive."
According to organisers, the main installations will return to Uzbekistan after Milan, extending the life of the project beyond Design Week.
The exhibition forms part of a broader programme of cultural initiatives led by ACDF, including the Uzbekistan Pavilion at the 61st International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, the first Tashkent Design Week, and the second Aral Culture Summit later this year.
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