Sara Raza has been appointed as artistic director and chief curator of the Centre for Contemporary Art (CCA) in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. The centre, established by the Uzbekistan Art and Culture Development Foundation, is due to reopen in September 2025. Housed in a restored tram depot, the CCA last year launched its first artist residencies programme with the aim of facilitating exchange between contemporary artists and Uzbek craftspeople and artisans.
Raza is a curator, writer and educator based in New York. She is the author of Punk Orientalism: The Art of Rebellion (2022), and has previously curated exhibitions at institutions including Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, the Rubin Museum of Art and the International Center of Photography. She was formerly curator for the Middle East and North Africa at the Guggenheim Museum in New York and curator of public programmes at Tate Modern. She currently teaches in NYU’s Media, Cultures and Communication department.
‘This role holds deep personal and professional significance: I am proud of my roots in the Greater Iran region, including ancient Uzbekistan,’ Raza said in a statement. ‘I look forward to working with local and international communities to develop programmes celebrating the country’s traditions and contemporary artistic practices, igniting fresh dialogues on a global stage.’
