The British Council is proud to announce the project winners of the 2025 Connections Through Culture (CTC) support programme, which nurtures artistic collaborations between the United Kingdom and Uzbekistan.
This year, 127 projects have been awarded globally, with 5 from Uzbekistan. Each brings artists and organisations from the UK and different parts of the world to exchange ideas, co-create, and explore bold new approaches to some of today’s most pressing global challenges.
From reimagining traditional craft, digital technology and tackling the climate crisis through performance and visual storytelling, the 2025 project winners reflect the extraordinary power of the arts to spark innovation, dialogue, and change.
"Each of the 2025 projects tells a story of artists finding common ground, experimenting, and creating something new together. These collaborations remind us that the arts thrive on mutual exchange and that when people connect across cultures, they create work that resonates far beyond their own communities," said Gala Koretskaya, Head of Arts and Creative Economy in Central Asia, British Council Uzbekistan.
"What makes Connections Through Culture so special is the diversity it brings together. Different traditions, ideas, and artistic practices converging to create something new," said Ruth Mackenzie CBE, British Council Director of Arts. "With its expansion, the programme connects even more voices and communities, strengthening the role of arts in fostering peace, trust, and prosperity across borders."
Through this cycle, the British Council will provide over GBP 1, 100, 000 in support globally, enabling project winners to take risks, experiment, and create work that transcends borders.
2025 project winners
Mapping Samarkand public and communal spaces
UK: Elisa Wynne-Hughes
Uzbekistan: Anastasia Galimova and Art Station Gallery
This is an archival research and collaborative workshop that examines everyday use of public and communal spaces across mahallas, Soviet micro-districts, and new residential developments. The project highlights how privatisation and securitisation reshape common spaces and explores grounded, inclusive approaches to city life through observation, discussion, and shared mapping.
Qizlar Tour
UK: Izba Arts
Uzbekistan: Qizlar Collective
Centring womxn’s voices, the project explores sustainable activist organising, decolonial feminist practices, and creative career pathways across borders. Uzbek artists will work with migrant and POC women’s groups in London, while UK artists will join feminist networks in Tashkent. Through shared research, creative workshops, and a co-created performance, the project builds supportive spaces for reflection, knowledge-sharing, and solidarity.
The Socialist Anthropocence in the Visual Arts (SAVA) in Uzbekistan
UK: Translocal Institute for Contemporary Art
Uzbekistan: DAVRA Research Collective
While the region has been shaped by extractivist policies under socialism, it’s often left out of global conversations around it. This is a step toward changing that. Together with Translocal Institute for Contemporary Art, the DAVRA collective have designed a week-long programme specifically for local artists, curators, and cultural practitioners, bringing the SAVA programme to the region for the first time.
Unravelling the Silk Road: An Anglo-Uzbek Bio-Art Exchange
UK: Anna Dimitriu
Uzbekistan: Contemporary Art Museum of Uzbekistan
This is a pioneering collaboration between BioArtist Anna Dumitriu and curator Shirin Tashova. They will explore the local rich medical history, from Avicenna to contemporary health challenges. During a residency, Dumitriu will create new works using local materials like silk and natural dyes. Fostering dialogue through workshops and mentoring, the project culminates in an exhibition at the Contemporary Art Museum of Uzbekistan.
Women Watch Uzbekistan Screenings
UK: Klassiki
Uzbekistan: Tashkent Film School
This series of screenings, masterclasses, workshops, and public discussions, will be celebrating women’s rights and female narratives. Showcasing a diverse range of films, it will foster discussions about women’s rights, gender equality, and the challenges faced by female artists across cultures. The concept arises from WOMEN WATCH UZBEKISTAN Project Accelerator, a mentoring program for female filmmakers which discovers emerging female voices in film.
For more information about the programme, please visit the website.
About Connections Through Culture programme
The Connections Through Culture support programme is designed to nurture fresh cultural partnerships between the UK and countries in the Asia-Pacific and Europe, and now Central Asia. This programme supports new ideas and collaborations from artists and cultural organisations at any stage of development.
