April 4–6, 2025
Aral Culture Summit is a visionary new initiative dedicated to the social and environmental transformation of the Aral Sea region through art, culture, design, and science.
Aral Culture Summit will bring together local and international activists, artists and scientists to explore and implement ecological, social and cultural pathways to sustainable development of Karakalpakstan. It will act as both an iterant platform for exchanging ideas (a Summit will be held every 18 months) and a placemaking initiative to revive the regional landscape and strengthen the community identity, while attracting new businesses that align with the principles of circular economy, creating sustainable economic growth.
The inaugural gathering from April 4 to 6, 2025 will include panel discussions, networking forums, cultural immersions through food, music, art and craft, as well as a public programme including a pop-up marketplace featuring local businesses and artisans.
The Aral Sea region
The Aral Sea in Uzbekistan, once the 4th largest lake in the world, began experiencing a significant decline in water levels from the 1960s due to mismanaged irrigation projects, diverting water from its two main feeder rivers, the Amu Darya and Syr Darya.
By the 1980s, the sea had shrunk to less than half of its original size and by 2007, the northeastern portion of the sea had completely dried up. This has resulted in a drastic reduction of the sea’s size and volume, as well as a loss of biodiversity and fish populations.
A community connected by regeneration and renewal
The first phase of this multi-year project will focus around the regeneration of a former amusement park Istiqlol in Nukus, the capital of Karakalpakstan in northern Uzbekistan.
ACS is determined to protect and rejuvenate the park’s built structures, gardens and natural landscapes, maintaining biodiversity and ecological balance. Sustainable practices will be developed in on-site gardens, integrating them into the park’s ecosystem, alongside public spaces that foster community engagement.
The masterplan for Istiqlol as a permanent destination mixes urban and ecological objectives; encouraging an eco-responsible tourism, offering a range of environmentally conscious and culturally enriching experiences, and serving as a blueprint for research and renewal to other cities around the world.
Gayane Umerova, Chairperson of the Uzbekistan Art and Culture Development Foundation (ACDF), comments: “For centuries Uzbekistan’s rich heritage and traditions have been intrinsically linked to and informed by our environment. With the Aral Culture Summit, our aim is to bring critical attention and cross-disciplinary expertise to the Aral Sea region’s fragile ecosystem. We believe the creative industries can have a role in helping us develop long term, sustainable solutions that will protect the local ecology, unite the community, and drive innovation, all of which are essential to Uzbekistan’s cultural development and safeguarding it for many generations to come.”
Uzbekistan in Global Culture, 2025
Aral Culture Summit will be the first in a series of global cultural initiatives taking place throughout 2025 and supported by the Art and Culture Development Foundation. These will include the World Expo Osaka (April–October), participation of the Uzbekistan pavilion at the Venice Biennale Architettura (May-November), and the inaugural Bukhara Biennale (September-November).
In addition, the 43rd session of the UNESCO General Conference will take place in Samarkand in November 2025 with expected 3000+ delegates. It marks the first time Uzbekistan will host the biennial event, which would be held outside of Paris for the first time in the last 40 years.
