The Tashkent House of Photography
Adress: 4 Istikbol street, Tashkent, 100047
Phone: (+998 71) 233 51 68
Fax: (+998 71) 252 26 50
E-mail: fotouz@inbox.ru
Web-site:
The Tashkent House of Photography (THP) is situated in the centre of Tashkent in a monumental building with a facade executed in the style of Medieval Eastern architecture and decorated with a tile portal. This architectural monument was constructed in 1934 from the design of well-known Uzbek architects K. Babievsky and A. Petelin and the idea of ethnographer painter V. Rozvadovsky.
The THP building is a spacious exhibition hall with an area exceeding 1500 square meters. The office facilities are in the upper part of the building, over the arch tympan. A unique carved door adorning the portal has been executed by a group of famous Tashkent woodcarving masters headed by Usto Gafuri Khodji Ashur and Raufi Yakub.
In various times such outstanding Uzbek artists as A. N. Volkov, N. Usto-Mumin, and the first Uzbek painters N. Karakhan and A. Siddiki displayed their works in this exhibition hall.
In the 1940-50s, the building housed the exposition of the History Museum of the Peoples of Uzbekistan, In the 1960th, here was placed the Art Exhibitions Directorate which had been created by the Government decision for wide popularization of contemporary art in Uzbekistan and abroad.
After the Tashkent earthquake in 1966, the exhibition hall — which turned out to be in the epicenter of the natural calamity — was capitally strengthened and the collection of the State Museum of Fine Arts was temporary sheltered there. In 1974, the Museum relocated to a new building and the Central Exhibition Hall regained its former role. Every year in this building were held 40-50 diverse exhibitions — collective and individual, stationary and traveling, national and international. In the years of Independence new live has been breathed into this building. In 1997, the Art Exhibitions Directorate was granted a status of the Tashkent House of Photography; and in 2005, in conformity with the edict of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the THP was included in the Academy of Arts of Uzbekistan. Thus, November 25, 2005 is regarded as an official birthday of the THP.
The main lines of the THP’s activities include: organization of competitions, festivals, exhibitions, symposiums, masterclasses, theoretical and practical seminars and conferences; here are being compiled a computer archive and video collection, electronic catalogues of domestic and foreign photographic art, CD ROM photographic series, a library on history and theory of photography, a stock of old and contemporary artistic photographic collections; educational activities in theory of photography, etc.
Among the honorable missions accomplished by the THP in the past few years are: the exhibitions of Independent Uzbekistan art dedicated to the 660th anniversary of Amir Timur, to the 2500th anniversaries of Bukhara and Khiva which were organized and held in the UNESCO headquarters in Paris; the art exhibitions of Germany, Japan, South Korea and other countries received by the THP.
One of the largest-scale THP’s projects is "TashkentAle" — the Tashkent International Biennial Photo Exhibitions which are held jointly with the Forum of Culture and Arts of Uzbekistan Foundation, the Academy of Arts of Uzbekistan, the Tashkent City Khokim’s Office and other stakeholders. This event which is arranged every two years attracts hundreds of participants from many countries of the world. For instance, 131 photographers from 22 countries took part in "TashkentAle-2008".
9-14 October 2010 was held the Fifth International Tashkent Exhibition Photo Biennial "TashkentAle-2010".
In 2000, a Section of Art Photographers was created under the THP. It conducts its activities as a full-fledged member of the creative union under the Academy of Arts of Uzbekistan. Members of this Section are permanent participants and prize winners of numerous international competitions, exhibitions and Tashkent biennial photo exhibitions. Among such prize winners are V. Sokolov, V. Yermakov, A. Djumayev, L. Ametov, M. Goloblyov, I. Sadyk-Zade, V. Zhirnov and others.
In 2006, a studio school of photographic art was set up under the THP. Such well known photographers as R. Sharipov, V. Zhirnov, S. Spiridonov, K. Faiziev and others have assumed the functions of its teachers. Students are delivered a 3-month course of lectures on artistic theory, specificity of composition, work with light, etc., familiarize themselves with reportage, studio and staged shooting. Classes at the studio school are supplemented with trips to the country, to the urban space, with photo sessions of theatre shooting and artistic shooting in the photo studio.
Now and again photographers from Germany, France, Romania, Russia and other countries give masterclasses in the studio school. Now many of the school alumni are actively implementing their creative concepts in photographic art and become prize winners of the national and international photographic competitions. The Tashkent House of Photography is implementing an integrated program of the development and popularization of photographic art and thus it familiarizes the people of Uzbekistan and its guests from abroad with the best achievements in contemporary arts and photography. It conducts a consistent work on research and popularization of the creative heritage of Uzbek masters, supports the activities of young photographers, fostering in the oncoming generation high cultural and moral qualities and the sentiment of deference to the national and panhuman values.