On 2 June 2025, the new association ‘San’at – Forum für Kunst, Kultur und Wissenschaft e.V.’ was presented at the Embassy of the Republic of Uzbekistan in Germany as part of the women entrepreneurs’ conference ‘Women in Business & Society: Women Entrepreneurs from Uzbekistan and Germany in Dialogue’. The conference, opened by the Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Mr Dilshod Akhatov, served as a platform for exchange and networking between successful female entrepreneurs from both countries and emphasised the central role of active women in economic and social development. During the event, our Berlin-based founder and art historian Zukhra Rakhmatova announced the founding of the San’at association. The announcement was accompanied by an exhibition of modern Uzbek painting featuring works by Sharifa Sharafkhodjaeva, Nuriddin Rasulov and Diyor Razikov. These paintings have an eventful history: they originate from the international travelling exhibition ‘Blue Container – On the New Silk Road’, which was organised in 2018 by the German-Chinese Cultural Exchange for Art and Design e.V. and shown in several countries from China to Germany.

During the coronavirus pandemic, the exhibition organiser ran into difficulties, leaving the fate of the works uncertain. At the artists’ request, Zukhra Rakhmatova embarked on a search lasting several weeks, managed to locate the paintings and rescue them – an act without which many of the works would probably have been lost. Their presentation at the embassy was seen as a ‘reunion with the homeland’ – a symbol of renewal and the resplendence of the colours of Uzbek art. The exhibition travelled along the new Silk Road in a blue container like the one shown below.

Unfortunately, the onset of the pandemic caused payment problems for the exhibition organiser. After extensive research by our founder Zukhra Rakhmatova, the curator of the exhibition identified the storage location of the works. After the exhibition, the works had been stored in a warehouse in the south of Düsseldorf. We took immediate action: the works were secured and transported directly from the warehouse in a van. The van brought the artworks to safety in Stuttgart, where our founder was living at the time.

Later, the San’at association was founded, mainly by those involved in this campaign. The association’s goal is to promote Uzbek art and culture internationally, strengthen cultural and scientific relations between Uzbekistan and other countries, and support exchange, education and social participation. To this end, the association plans to organise conferences, exhibitions, master classes, forums and cultural encounters. In addition, talented artists are to be promoted and partnerships between universities in Uzbekistan and Germany established. In addition to the ‘rescuers of the works’, the association’s members include executives from major German companies such as Bosch, Volkswagen and Deutsche Bahn, as well as students in Germany – a sign of the intercultural character and bridge-building between cultures that San’at has set itself as its goal.