The Aural Sea: Uzbekistan Pavilion at the 61st Venice Biennale —

The Aural Sea: Uzbekistan Pavilion at the 61st Venice Biennale

From 9 May to 22 November 2026, the Uzbekistan National Pavilion occupies the Arsenale with The Aural Sea, an exhibition that uses sound, myth and imagination to revisit the environmental transformations of the Aral Sea.

Curated by a team formed within the Bukhara Biennial Curatorial School, the project features newly commissioned works and recent pieces across immersive installations, sculpture, textiles, painting and sound environments. The exhibition promotes myth-making as a strategy to envision alternatives to loss and to foster cultural regeneration.

What to see

• Artists: Jahongir Bobokulov, Zi Kakhramonova, Aygul Sarsen, Zulfiya Spowart, Xin Liu, A.A. Murakami, Nguyen Phuong Linh.
• Formats: site-specific installations, soundscapes, textile sculptures and painting.
• Approach: fiction and myth used as tools for environmental reflection and imaginative recovery.

Events and performance

As part of the opening programme, Josef Tumari performs Äwlep on Thursday 7 May at 12:30 — a sound work that traces sensory thresholds linked to the Aral Sea basin using voices, archival echoes and natural resonance.

Practical information

• Dates: on view 09/05/2026–22/11/2026 (opening: 07/05/2026).
• Venue: Venice, Arsenale — Uzbekistan Pavilion, Castello 2169/F, 30122 Venice (VE), Italy.
• Organiser: Uzbekistan Art and Culture Development Foundation (ACDF).
• More info: ACDF official site (https://www.acdf.uz).

Visitor tip: allow time to experience sound pieces and immersive environments—slow, attentive visits enhance understanding of the exhibition's layered narratives.