Uzbekistan's Savitsky Museum in Nukus Reopens with Expanded Russian Avant-Garde Show

The State Museum of Arts of the Republic of Karakalpakstan in Nukus, Uzbekistan—dubbed the 'Louvre of the Desert' by The Guardian—has reopened with a major exhibition titled 'Avant-Garde in the Desert.' The museum, named after its founder I.V. Savitsky, holds over 82,000 works and the world's second-largest collection of Russian avant-garde art after the State Russian Museum in Saint Petersburg. The exhibition, curated by Silvia Burini and Giuseppe Barbieri (directors of the Center for Russian Art Studies at Ca' Foscari University of Venice), in collaboration with Zelfira Tregulova and researcher Maria Redaelli, features over 200 works, including previously unseen pieces. It builds on earlier spring shows in Italy at Florence's Palazzo Pitti and Venice's Ca' Foscari Esposizioni, and includes loans from the State Museum of Arts of Tashkent. The museum's renovation, designed by architect Massimiliano Bigarello, features multilingual didactic displays (in four languages) and interactive multimedia installations, all made in Italy. The museum now positions itself as Central Asia's premier 20th-century art venue, with plans to fully renovate the third floor by spring 2025 to attract more international visitors.