ADF presents Uzbekistan-native Hassan Kurbanbaev’s Samarkand, a critical photographic survey of a city in transformation - evolving through the people, customs, and visual systems that pass through its porous borders. 

Uzbekistan’s ties to Hellenic artistic and architectural principles originate from 329 BCE, when Samarkand was ruled by Alexander the Great. Presently, centered most robustly in Tashkent are Uzbekistan’s Greek diasporic communities. Their presence was the result of two periods of migration: between 1944-49 displaced Pontiac Greeks and political refugees settled in Uzbekistan as a consequence of World War II and the Greek Civil War. 

Samarkand, nestled in a large oasis, is a paramount destination at the crossroads of civilizations. Its preserved craft industry was influenced by both early Hellenic precedents and the Temurid epoch of the 14th and 15th centuries, which resulted in robust town planning and in the region’s development of advanced masonry techniques. The photographs unveil the complex ecosystem of design characteristics that prevail in Samarkand where traditional houses with a central courtyard and painted wooden interiors are eclipsed by modern developments. These historic, cross-cultural transfers are now threatened by rapid globalization. 

Kurbanbaev’s travel to Registan Square, just a few steps behind the old quarters of the city called ‘mahalla,’ exposes the liminal thresholds of contemporary Uzbekistan. “Its history and the flow of time does not move here in a frantic rhythm,” Kurbanbaev laments. The ancient walls meld with the faces of children and adults preserving the memory of past generations, “which may go away forever.” 

ADF 2022 prioritizes discourses on cross-cultural design manifestations and Uzbekistan serves as our first destination. 

Images © Hassan Kurbanbaev for Athens Design Forum