First Bukhara Biennial Attracts Global Arts Tourism

Autumn 2025, Uzbekistan launched the  Bukhara Biennial, which is a major international contemporary art festival to attract even more tourists but cleverly outside the tourism hot season. Running from September 5 to November 20, 2025 in the ancient city of Bukhara, the biennial brings together over 200 artists from 39 countries, with more than 70 site-specific art installations spread across Bukhara’s historic landmarks.

The event, themed “Recipes for Broken Hearts,” is organized by Uzbekistan’s Art and Culture Development Foundation and is touted as Central Asia’s largest cultural event to date. What makes it special for visitors is its setting as the artworks and performances are staged in newly restored centuries-old madrasas, caravanserais, mosques, and public plazas in Bukhara’s UNESCO-listed Old City. By blending modern art with Silk Road heritage, the biennial creates an immersive experience with contemporary sculptures and multimedia exhibits interwoven with traditional Uzbek crafts such as woodcarving, ikat weaving and ceramics displayed in context. There are also cultural activities like a “Rice Cultures” festival celebrating pilaf traditions across Asia, and large-scale art highlights such as British artist Antony Gormley’s labyrinth of human figures installed in a 16th-century mosque. 

The biennial is free to the public and aims to put Uzbekistan on the art-tourism map, attracting enthusiasts to travel for the event. It’s part of a broader strategy to use cultural tourism as a catalyst for urban revitalization: Bukhara has been creating a pedestrian-friendly “cultural district,” and the biennial’s legacy will include a new contemporary art museum in the city. For tourists, the Bukhara Biennial offers a unique reason to visit Uzbekistan this autumn, combining world-class art with the chance to explore an evocative Silk Road city in a new light. It is expected that the event will take place again in 2026.