Kulapat Yantrasast, founder and creative director of WHY Architecture, is appointed Artistic Director of the 2027 Bukhara Biennial, conceived and commissioned by Gayane Umerova and the Uzbekistan Art and Culture Development Foundation (ACDF). The 2027 edition will take place September 3—November 21, 2027, and expand to new historic sites, venues and public spaces across Bukhara. Continuing the biennial’s interdisciplinary focus on art, craft and cultural exchange, the 2027 edition will see international artists collaborate with Uzbek master artisans, as well as with ecologists, scholars, economists and local communities. Kulapat Yantrasast and Gayane Umerova will speak to their new partnership at a panel event on June 18, 2026, at Fondation Beyeler during Art Basel, where Yantrasast has been awarded a medal in the Cross-Disciplinary Creator category.

The Uzbekistan Art and Culture Development Foundation (ACDF) preserves, promotes and nurtures Uzbekistan’s heritage, arts and culture. At the forefront of the country’s cultural development, ACDF fosters the cultural ecosystem, drives the creative economy, and creates opportunities for practitioners on local, regional and global stages. It believes that culture and heritage play a vital role in shaping society, uniting communities, bridging generations, and facilitating cross-cultural dialogue.

ACDF oversees the Centre for Contemporary Arts Tashkent (CCA Tashkent), opening on 6 September 2026, and is leading the development of the new National Museum of Uzbekistan, designed by Tadao Ando. The Foundation has also created the inaugural Bukhara Biennial, which welcomed more than 1.8 million visitors, connecting international audiences with the artists, artisans and communities of Bukhara. ACDF also spearheaded the first Aral Culture Summit and launched “Tashkent Modernism XX/XXI”, an ongoing research initiative dedicated to documenting and protecting the city’s modernist architecture.

To date, ACDF has reached more than 5 million visitors through major exhibitions and cultural projects across 17 countries, working with leading institutions including the Louvre, Arab World Institute, Uffizi Galleries, British Museum and Palace Museum. Through collaborations across Europe, Asia and the Gulf, ACDF continues to position Uzbekistan as a dynamic centre for cultural exchange and contemporary creativity.

For more information please visit the Bukhara Biennial website.

Tagged 17/06/26.