EDEN opens at Tashkent Biennale with seven international artists

EDEN opened October 13 at the Gallery of Fine Arts of Uzbekistan in Tashkent as part of the XI Tashkent International Biennale of Contemporary Art. The presentation places the Athens-based curatorial project in dialogue with the biennale’s Event Horizon theme, international artists, and a broader discussion of how reality shifts across physical and digital spaces.

Why it matters: - EDEN is using the XI Tashkent International Biennale to expand a curatorial project that links Athens, Berlin and now Tashkent. - The presentation puts questions of perception, transition and digital culture in front of an international art audience in Uzbekistan. - The biennale setting gives EDEN a platform alongside local artists, international exhibitors and official cultural institutions.

What happened: - EDEN opened on October 13 at the Gallery of Fine Arts of Uzbekistan (NBU) in Tashkent. - The exhibition is part of the XI Tashkent International Biennale of Contemporary Art, which runs October 12 to 16, 2026. - The opening featured seven artists from EDEN’s core group. - Kamola Akilova, director of the Gallery of Fine Arts of Uzbekistan, opened the exhibition. - Julia Sysalova, the Athens-based curator behind EDEN, attended the opening. - Participating artist Viktor Vinichenko also attended and gave interviews to two television channels.

The details: - The seven EDEN artists are Oxana Akopov (USA), Irina Metz (Armenia), Julia Flit (UK), Natalya Raduenz (Germany), Natalya Ponomareva (Russian Federation), Veera Romanoff (Finland) and Viktor Vinichenko (Spain). - Chief Curator Zukhra Zainutdinova, PhD in Art History, selected the EDEN artists and their works for the biennale program. - The biennale theme is Event Horizon. - EDEN uses that theme to examine the moment of transition between reality and illusion, and between physical and digital worlds. - The Gallery of Fine Arts of Uzbekistan is also hosting an exhibition of works by Zurab Tsereteli. - The gallery is simultaneously presenting a curated show of local artists and EDEN’s international presentation. - Sysalova will speak on October 15 at the International Scientific and Practical Conference Event Horizon: Contemporary Art in the Context of Socio-Cultural Transformations at the Academy of Arts of Uzbekistan. - The conference will focus on technological change, cultural identity, collective memory and evolving social realities.

Between the lines: - EDEN is being framed as a project that evolves with each host city, rather than a fixed exhibition. - Sysalova said the Athens, Berlin and Tashkent presentations each reveal questions that were not visible before. - The Tashkent appearance positions the project inside a wider institutional conversation about how technology reshapes art and perception. - The combination of local, regional and international programming suggests the biennale is aiming for cross-cultural exchange rather than a single national showcase.

What's next: - Sysalova’s conference appearance on October 15 will extend EDEN’s presence beyond the exhibition floor. - The biennale continues through October 16 with exhibitions, performances, masterclasses and conference programming across Tashkent. - EDEN’s next chapter will likely build on the project’s focus on the threshold between the physical and digital worlds.

The bottom line: - EDEN’s Tashkent debut turns a biennale slot into a test case for how contemporary art can frame the shifting boundary between reality and illusion.