In December 2009 the city of Termez hosted an already traditional field plenary meeting of the Artists Association of Uzbekistan. T. Kuziev, the Association’s Chair, noted that the main objective of the field plenary meetings was “to share views, to study the artistic environment on the ground, and to provide moral and artistic support to local artists, especially to young people”.
The meeting was attended by more than 60 people, including lead masters of fine arts, as well as heads of art schools of the Academy of Arts of Uzbekistan, Deputy Governor of Surkhandarya Province P. Madiev and Head of the Province Department for Culture and Sports A. Buriev. The meeting was chaired by T. Mahmudov, Professor of Art History. The memory of artists Bahtiyar Babaev, Lailo Salimjanova and Zhollibai Izentaev who passed away in recent years was honoured with a minute of silence.
T. Mahmudov congratulated the attendees with the New Year (2010), the Year of Harmoniously Developed Generation, and informed the audience about artists’ creative achievements in 2009, objectives set before them, and future plans. P. Madiev’s presentation was dedicated to the rich history of Surkhandarya and the contribution of local artists to global and Uzbek fine arts.
V. Burmakin, Deputy Chair of the Artists Association, rated highly the works of artists, which were displayed at “Surkhon Javohirlari” exhibition held in the Archaeological Museum of Termez and at the personal exhibition of a young artist Erkin Aralov in the Students Hall. During a visit to the gallery of a famous master of brush Ruzy Chariev whose 80th anniversary will be marked in 2011, Burmakin urged the audience to cherish the artist’s heritage and immortalize his name. Specifically, he suggested installing a monument to Chariev in his homeland, publishing a fundamental catalogue of his works, restoring a museum of his name in Pashkhurd village, and replenishing the collection of his works with paintings that are currently found in different places across Uzbekistan. According to Burmakin, among the matters of urgency is the issue of instituting an independent expert council under the Academy of Arts, which would promptly address issues related to import and export of the works of art more that fifty years old and those created today.
Presentations were also made by:
A. Alikulov, Chair of Monumental Painting Department, who noted the role of artistic young people in the development of fine arts and their participation in international and domestic exhibitions. He believes appropriate to increase the number of exhibition halls and galleries in the country. Alimkulov specifically mentioned the achievements of young artists who earn very favourable critical reviews in many countries worldwide. For instance, great repercussion was produced by Moscow exhibitions such as “The Uzbek Square” (I. Shin, I, Yenin, D. Mirsalimov, A. Alikulov), a project by B. Jalalov, and an exhibition of an artist from Fergana Y. Useinov dedicated to a thousandth anniversary of Yaroslavl city.
T. Shoimardanov, Head of Surkhandarya branch of the Artists Association, told the audience about several personal exhibitions of artists who play an active role in celebrating national holidays dedicated to Navruz and Independence Day and in other province-level cultural events, which were organized last year. For instance, the Archaeological Museum of Termez housed exhibitions of the Artists Association members S. Akhmedov, T. Shomirzaev, D. Yuldasheva, H. Mamataliev, and H. Hasanov, who were awarded valuable gifts from the province government and sponsor organizations. These days quite frequent are meetings between students of vocational art boarding schools and renowned painters – their fellow countrymen.
A. Sattarov, Head of Kashkadarya branch of the Artists Association, noted that the branch had established close cooperation with all regional associations, which are jointly looking for opportunities of bringing a larger audience to exhibition halls and promoting both classical and contemporary painting among masses.
Artist Sh. Gafurov presented the idea of selecting the best works among those displayed at the exhibitions in nominations such as “Best Landscape”, “Best Portrait”, “For Multi-Plane Painting”, “For Monumental Painting” and “Best Still-Life”, with subsequent rewarding for the worthy artists or nominating them as candidates for state awards. Among urgent problems is the provision of artists with studio space. This burning issue could be addressed and helped with by local authorities and sponsors.
In the opinion of artist N. Kalonov, Surkhandarya with its rich history could be well placed as a host area for visiting artists from other regions and for productive creative exchange. Currently, the priority objective is to strengthen material and technical facilities of the Artists Union provincial branch and the boarding school of art, as well as to intensify interaction between artists from the regions and the capital city.
S. Abdullaev, the Academic Secretary of the Artists Association, shared his impressions from visiting Surkhandarya. He was impressed by the number of talented people who originate from this region. Among them are prominent masters such as Ruzy Chariev, Azamat Khatamov, et al. It is symbolic that 40 new members from all parts of the country were admitted to the Artists Union, which shows that a worthy new generation of artists has been educated.
The work of the Artists Association was unanimously recognized as satisfactory. The Gold Medal of the Academy of Arts of Uzbekistan for attainments was awarded to T. Shomirzaev, and Certificates of Honour were given to artists from Surkhandarya T. Shoimardanov, E. Aralov, S. Akhmedov, H. Khasanov and H. Mamataliev.
After the meeting, the participants went on a tour and visited the mausoleum of imam Termezi, historical sites Faeztepa and Sultan-Saodat, as well as an exhibition organized in a Sherabad school No. 66, displaying works by Chorshanbi Mamatkulov and his son Akram, pottery master Botir Pardaev, sculptor Mukhammajan Botirov and others. A renowned artist and Academician B. Jalalov highly appreciated the works shown at the exhibition.
By Nodir Normatov