Inside Uzbekistan’s restored contemporary art centre

Updated: 07/09/2026 - 20:42 GMT+2 A restored 1912 industrial complex now houses a contemporary art centre, opening with Hikmah, featuring an installation from the Guggenheim Museum collection. A 1912 industrial building designed by architect Wilhelm Heinzelman has been given a very different second life. First used as a tram depot and later as a diesel power station, the site has been restored as the Centre for Contemporary Arts Tashkent, with its industrial character deliberately preserved. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT During a visit ahead of its public opening, Uzbekistan's President Shavkat Mirziyoyev toured the galleries, education spaces and public areas and was briefed on future exhibitions, research and residency programmes. One of the centre’s less visible features is a specialist research library devoted to art, visual cultures and critical theory, with a particular focus on perspectives from the Global Majority, alongside a growing archive of local artists’ studios. Its inaugural exhibition, Hikmah, also marks the first presentation in Uzbekistan of an installation from the collection of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York.