Uzbekistan has a brand new arts centre but can it rival Dubai as the next global art hub?

Uzbekistan, with its rich history of ancient Silk Road craftsmanship and later influences from Imperial Russia to the Soviets, is a country shaped by layers of conquest, trade and intellectual exchange. At the Uzbek capital’s new Centre for Contemporary Arts Tashkent (CCA), the inaugural exhibition – titled “Hikmah” and featuring sculptures and installations by 10 artists from around the world, including Palestine and the United States – sets out to explore the complexity of that cultural...