August 10-20
Personal exhibition of Lekim Ibragimov, the People’s Artist of Uzbekistan and Academician of the Russian and Uzbek Academies of Arts was held in a museum and exhibition complex – the Zurab Tseretelli Gallery of Arts in Moscow. Exposition titled “Abduction of Asia” comprising 40 canvases of the artist was dedicated to the memory of a famous writer Chingiz Aytmatov.
August 18-20
The Ikuo Hirayama International Caravanserai of Culture of the Academy of Arts of Uzbekistan hosted the city tour of Kelajak Ovozi contest and an exhibition presenting works of young artists, sculptors, embroiderers, applied arts masters and others.
August 19-30
Exhibition called “Noosphere” held in the Tashkent House of Photography (THP) presented works by painter Vladimir Finkelstein, photo artists Shakhnoza Karimbabaeva, Tursun Ali and Vladimir Zhirnov, as well as installations by designer-florist Galina Nikitina, which were united by a common theme of relationships between man and nature and reflection of his inner world.
August 20 – September 1
Republican festival of traditional and contemporary art “Navkiron Uzbekiston” took place in the Palace of Young People’s Art. More than 200 artists and applied arts masters aged 18-35 participated in the festival, displaying their works in the domains of art such as painting, drawing, sculpture, design, photography, video art, installation, ceramics, chasing, painting and carving on wood and plaster, etc.
August 23 – September 5
The Central House of Artist on Krymskiy Val in Moscow was a venue for a personal exhibition of the People’s Artist of Uzbekistan Medat Kagarov, displaying about 100 paintings and drawings.
September 4-16
The Central Museum of the Armed Forces of Uzbekistan hosted a thematic exhibition titled “Uzbekistan, My Homeland” scheduled to mark the 17th anniversary of Uzbekistan’s independence. The exposition comprised 40 pieces wrought by well-known artists, reflecting traditional folklore and customs recorded in paintings, drawings and specimens of decorative and applied art.
September 17-28
Gala evening to honour members of the Republican Creative Union of Artists who earned high awards on the occasion of the 17th anniversary of independence of Uzbekistan was organized at the Central Exhibition Hall (CEH) of the Academy of Arts. Among the laureates is a dynasty woodcarver Mukarram Ibragimova – she was awarded the title of The People’s Master of the Republic of Uzbekistan; Obijan Bakirov, a painter from Andijan, earned the title of The People’s Artist of the Republic of Uzbekistan; Okiljon Ibragimov was awarded “Dustlik” Order for great contribution to the development of fine arts; painter Pyotr Annenkov and art historian Khanjara Abulkasymova earned the title of Merited Worker of Culture of the Republic of Uzbekistan. Presentation of the third album “Artists about Their Art” was also presented during the event.
September 18-30
Personal exhibition of a well-known artist from Khorezm Erkabay Masharipov held at the CEH of the Academy of Arts presented canvases in different genres: from epic history to battle scenes, subject compositions and beautiful lyrical landscapes.
September 19 – October 1
The exposition of an anniversary personal exhibition “Pages of History” of the People’s Artist of Uzbekistan Tura Kuryazov held at the CEH comprised 200 works of the artist created in the genre of epic history.
September 20 – October 5
The Art Museum named after K. Bekhzad housed an exhibition of well-known artists from Bukhara Bakhodir Salomov and Zelimkhan Saidjanov. Landscapes, studies, still-life paintings and portraits of contemporaries performed in different technique and on different surfaces were presented at the exhibition.
September 26 – October 10
The Central Exhibition Complex of Seoul, “COEX”, hosted the 8th international annual art exhibition in Korea KIAF-2008 where more than 200 works were exhibited, of which 102 were created by masters from overseas. The Academy of Arts of Uzbekistan was represented by original works of Uzbekistan’s artists such as Iskra Shin, Nodira Shoabdurakhimova, Alisher Alikulov and others.
October 4-8
At the exhibition of merited worker of culture, member of the Academy of Arts Alexander Batykov under the title of “Ray of Light in the Window” that was held in the premises of a charity foundation “Soghlom Avlod Uchun” with support from the republican social foundation “Sen yolg`iz emassan” and “The Alley of Memory” foundation, about 70 works of the artist and stage designer were presented in the genres of still-life and landscape, as well as his water-colours, drawings and scale models for theatrical performances.
October 9-20
The exhibition hall of culture and art demonstrated 50 kinds of traditional musical instruments and 30 popular instruments manufactured abroad, as well as learning tools and equipment necessary for delivering training sessions at the children’s schools of music and arts. The exhibition was organized by the Ministry of Public Education, Ministry for Culture and Sports, the Academy of Arts of Uzbekistan, the State Conservatory of Uzbekistan and “Khunarmand” Association.
October 10-22
Ukrainian cultural centre “Homeland” supported by the Embassy of Ukraine in Uzbekistan and the Academy of Arts of Uzbekistan took an active part in the exhibition called “Memory of the Heart” held in the THP of the Academy of Arts. The exhibition displayed about 70 items of painting, drawing, sculpture and decorative composition, as well as traditional Ukrainian costumes. Active participants of the exhibition were the famous Uzbek masters of brush educated in Ukraine who now live and work in Uzbekistan.
October 10-29
The Ilkhom Theatre housed an exhibition of artists from Fergana Valley titled “Art-Savat”, showing installations made of savat, with shadow portraits of the participants.
October 15-25
Personal exhibition of a jeweller Edward Gostev, member of the artists union of the Academy of Arts, held at the ЦСИ of the Academy of Arts, displayed more than 100 jewellery items.
October 22-27
The IV International “TashkentAle-2008″ and the II International festival of actual photo and video art “East-West. The Tashkent Crossroads” organized in cooperation with the Forum for Uzbekistan Culture and Art Foundation, the Academy of Arts and the Tashkent House of Photography, scheduled to mark the 2200th anniversary of Tashkent City were held in several exhibition halls of the capital city (THP, CEH, The State Museum of Arts, etc.). More than a hundred photographers from twenty countries participated in this kind of a photo-marathon, each of them presenting the art of photography of his country.
November 14-29
The CEH of the Academy of Arts was the venue for an anniversary exhibition of the People’s Artist of Uzbekistan, state awards winner and full member of the Academy of Arts, Professor Bakhodir Jalal, under the title “Elation of a Silent Witness”. 
The exposition comprised four major projects: “Elation of a Silent Witness”, “The Secrets of the White Night”, “The Legend of Navruz”, and “Revolution in the Direction of Harmony”, which included more than 60 pieces.
November 20 – December 10
In the framework of the National Cinema Festival and the Central Asian Forum for Visual Anthropology “KinoVisA” an exhibition called “Moon-face” was held in the Fine Arts Gallery of Uzbekistan (FAG), and its curator was Academician of the Academy of Arts Dr. Akbar Khakimov. The project was organized by the Forum for Uzbekistan Culture and Art Foundation, Swiss Bureau for Cooperation, Swiss Embassy in Uzbekistan, and the FAG. Taking part in the project were such well-known artists as Bobur Ismailov, Timur Akhmedov, Zebiniso Sharipova, Yuriy Useinov, Ronald Kleyer, Michael Barry Lane et al.
November 25 – December 15
Anniversary exhibition of Ibragim Valikhojaev, a renowned painter and member of the artists union of the Academy of Arts presented about 200 paintings and drawings dedicated to his contemporaries.
November 29 – December 9
The Ilkhom Theatre housed a personal exhibition of Inna Vasilyeva, a renowned artist, member of a creative union of the Academy of Arts of Uzbekistan and a regular participant of art exhibitions held both at home and abroad.
December 1-12
The days of painting, poetry, music and photography under a thematic title “Art as a Way to Tolerance” were held with support from the international non-governmental foundation “Soghlom Avlod Uchun”, the Academy of Arts, the Composers Union, Russian cultural centre in Uzbekistan, the republican social foundation “The Alley of Memory” and the M. Ulugbek culture centre. Under the project the THP hosted an exhibition of paintings, water-colours, drawings and photographs by renowned artists of Uzbekistan.
December 3 – January 3
The exhibition of Vincent Vilard, a well-known graphic artist, was held at the Victor Hugo French Cultural Centre. The artist, when travelling around the world, discovers colourful personalities whose life and environment is different from his own universe.
December 15-19
The Fine Arts Gallery was a venue for the II International Biennale of children’s drawings under the title “The Joys of Tashkent”, organized by the Academy of Arts, the Ministry for Culture and Sports, the Ministry of foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Higher and Secondary Professional Education, the Ministry of Finance, the Municipality of Tashkent City, the National Agency “UzbekCinema”, Television and Radio company of Uzbekistan and others. The objective of the Biennale was to support children’s art and creativity, facilitate the establishment of mutual understanding and international communication among children, reveal new talents, create the environment for improving professional skills of young amateurs of painting, and to develop children’s intellectual capacity. Children from the following countries participated in the contest: the UK, Algeria, Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, Bulgaria, Belarus, Vietnam, Germany, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Italy, Israel, Iran, Indonesia, India, Kazakhstan, China, Korea, Latvia, Lithuania, Malaysia, New Zealand, Poland, Russia, the USA, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Turkey, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, the Republic of Karakalpakstan, France, South Africa and Japan.
December 18 – January 8
Exhibition titled “Autumnal Bloom” was demonstrated in the Fine Arts Gallery of Uzbekistan, having become a kind of a report on traditional open-air works of Uzbekistan artists. This time painters were inspired by a place called Yangiabad located in the Tashkent Province. Luxuriant autumnal colours and almost hibernating nature have been reflected on the canvases of the eight exhibition participants, including renowned artists such as I. Shin, A. Yunusov, V. Yenin, V. Troshina, V. Useinov, M. Sadykov, B. Urakov, and A. Muminov.
December 25 – January 30
The traditional national-level art exhibition “The Artist and Nature” was held at the Central Exhibition Hall of the Academy of Arts. More than three hundred paintings were presented for the audience’s judgement by the artists from Tashkent and Tashkent Province, Khorezm, Surkhandarya and Kashkadarya. The exposition also included 35 items of hand-made embroidery wrought by women-masters from Surkhandarya.
December 31 – January 8
Exhibition dedicated to the 80th anniversary since the birthday of a talented monumental painter and merited artist of Uzbekistan Arnold Gan was held at the Tashkent House of Photography. The exposition presented over a hundred paintings from a family archive, including a symbolic self-portrait of the artist together with his father, which was created not long before he died.
Prepared by Luisa Salikhova