The initiative was launched by Gayane Umerova, Chairperson of the Uzbekistan Art and Culture Development Foundation. The project aims to foster cultural production and artistic exchange across Uzbekistan.

The building dates back to 1912 and previously housed a diesel power station and a tram depot. It has been reimagined by the French architectural bureau Studio KO. The space is now designed as a meeting point for artists, researchers, and all those interested in contemporary art. The Centre will host studios, a library, co-working spaces, and exhibition halls. Educational programs, artist residencies, and public events are also planned, including the Nawruz Festival and the Tashkent Film Encounters festival.

Residency programs, internships, and research projects will contribute to the Centre’s long-term development. Collaboration with the Architectural Association in London will further support its growth. The Centre will serve as a platform for experimental artistic practice.

The Centre’s Artistic Director and Chief Curator is Dr. Sara Raza, who works within a transnational curatorial framework. She brings more than twenty years of research and cultural practice across Central Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa, as well as within their diaspora communities.

Admission to the Centre will be free; applications for programs can be submitted via @cca_tashkent.