Artistic Director of Bukhara Biennial’s first edition, Recipes for Broken Hearts

Artistic Director of the Dhaka-based Samdani Art Foundation 

Chief Curator of the Dhaka Art Summit

"For centuries, religious and cultural traditions from all corners of the world have commingled in Bukhara, resulting in a rich atmosphere of learning, craft and artistic production. It has always been a place where people came together to find togetherness in the quest ​​for a more meaningful life through a search for spiritual, intellectual, and worldly knowledge. Recipes for Broken Hearts will emphasise this legacy by revitalising some of the extraordinary sites that were essential to developing the culture that we celebrate today, bringing them back into the pulse of life of the city through an interdisciplinary event which goes beyond the traditional notions of an art biennial."

Biography

Diana Campbell is a Los Angeles-born curator and writer whose practice focuses on institution building and creating forums for interdisciplinary cultural convenings globally.  

Campbell is the Founding Artistic Director of the Dhaka-based Samdani Art Foundation in Bangladesh, a leading South Asian institution dedicated to fostering the growth of local artists and creating opportunities for profound encounters with Bangladesh. She is the Chief Curator of its flagship project, the Dhaka Art Summit (DAS), having led its critically acclaimed editions from 2014 to 2023, and is currently envisioning the 2026 edition. 

As Head of Global Initiatives of the Hartwig Art Foundation in Amsterdam, she works across expanded notions of collecting, commissioning and collaborating, and is part of the facilitation group of AFIELD, a global network of socially engaged artistic initiatives.
 
Homo Faber has appointed Campbell as one of their Craft Experts to identify talented artisans in the Asia Pacific region and bring her expertise to the 2024 Biennial. Previously held curatorial roles, include curator of Frieze Projects for Frieze London in 2018–2019 and co-curator of the 2023 edition of Desert X in Coachella Valley. 

Committed to working actively between the spaces of art, craft, performance, design and architecture, Campbell has commissioned numerous interdisciplinary global projects. Among her commissions and curated projects, Campbell has worked with over 1900 creatives from over 70 countries including Antony Gormley, Kashef Chowdhury (URBANA), Korakrit Arunanondchai, Otobong Nkanga, Paul Pfeiffer, Rana Begum, Rizvi Hassan, Shakuntala Kulkarni and Sumayya Vally (Counterspace). 

Collaborating with the world’s leading scholars and institutions, she bridges the gap between scholarship and exhibition-making, commencing initiatives such as MAHASSA (Modern Art Histories in and across Africa, South and Southeast Asia) by Getty Foundation, Samdani Art Foundation, Cornell University’s Institute for Comparative Modernities, and Asia Art Archive; the EDI Global Forum for Education and Integration; and the DAS International Art Mediators Programme. 

Maternally of Chamoru descent, Campbell has written extensively on indigeneity, art, and architecture. Her writing has been published by Phaidon, MoMa, Frieze and Rizzoli among others. 

She has been recognised as one of the most influential figures in the art world by the ArtReview Power100 list (2019–2023).

Creative Director of Architecture,

Founding partner of Dubai- and Tokyo-based firm waiwai.

Wael Al Awar is an architect who founded waiwai (formerly ibda design) after returning to the Middle East from Tokyo. Wael layers his interests in natural phenomena into an architecture of light, time, structure, and landscape. He seeks to create an architecture that is more than fabrication, that remains open to adaptation. His site-specific designs encourage unexpected experiences. Wael curated the UAE National Pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale in 2021, which was awarded the Golden Lion.

The Uzbekistan Art and Culture Development Foundation (ACDF) preserves, promotes and nurtures Uzbekistan’s heritage, arts and culture. Positioned at the forefront of Uzbekistan’s cultural development, ACDF is committed to fostering the cultural ecosystem of the country, driving the creative economy, and providing opportunities for practitioners on a local, regional and global stage. ACDF believes that culture and heritage are vital in shaping society, uniting communities, bridging generations, and facilitating cross-cultural conversations. 

In Tashkent, ACDF spearheaded the fourth edition of the World Conference on Creative Economy (WCCE), the renovation of the Centre for Contemporary Arts; the Aral Culture Summit in Nukus, the construction of the new National Museum of Uzbekistan designed by Tadao Ando, and the restoration and partial reconstruction of the Palace of the Grand Duke of Romanov. 

To date, ACDF has reached over 3.5 million visitors through landmark exhibitions across 17 countries: from the Louvre and Arab World Institute in Paris to the Uffizi in Florence, the British Museum in London, and the Palace Museum in Beijing. With projects presented across Europe, Asia, and the Gulf, and collaborations with over 40 international museums and cultural institutions, the Foundation is amplifying Uzbek voices and stories in the world’s most influential cultural arenas. 

SPECIAL SUPPORT
Head of the Administration of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan:
              Saida Mirziyoyeva

BUKHARA BIENNIAL COMMISSIONER
Head of the Department of Creative Economy and Tourism of the Administration of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan
Chairperson of the Uzbekistan Art and Culture Development Foundation: 
           
              Gayane Umerova

BUKHARA REGIONAL ADMINISTRATION 
Governor:
              Botir Zaripov
Deputy governor:
              Botir Shahriyorov

UZBEKISTAN ART AND CULTURE DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION
First Deputy Chairperson:
              Elmurod Najimov
Deputy Chairperson:
              Azizbek Mannopov
Advisor:
              Cyril Zammit
Head of the Construction Department:
              Saidaziz Ishankhudjaev
Construction Project Manager:
              Anton Cherkasov
Head of Museums at the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Republic of Uzbekistan:
              Bobirmirzo Sayomov

Marketing and Communications:
              Sanobar Umarova
              Tuychimurod Tuxtapulatov
              Soxibjamol Rustamova
              Zarif Kulmatov
Project Managers:
              Abdulaziz Gulamov
              Musharrafkhon Gofurjonova
              Otabek Rikhsimboev
              Shakhlo Akhmedjanova
Executive Producer:
              Salokhiddinkhuja Suratkhodjaev
Producers:
              Amirkhon Gayratkhujayev
              Muzaffar Yusupov 
              Otabek Azizov 
              Sherdor Nasimov

CULTURAL HERITAGE AGENCY OF THE REPUBLIC OF UZBEKISTAN 
Head of the Department of Cultural Heritage of the Bukhara Region:
              Kamol Salyamov

CURATORIAL TEAM
Artistic Director:
              Diana Campbell
Assistant Curator:
              Timur Zolotoev
Assistant Project Manager:
              Adam Ondak
Producers:
              Hamid Amini
              Alexandra Maleeva
              Asli Samadova
              Anastasya Skvortsova
Public Programme and Publications Manager:
              Qamoos Bukhari
Public Programme Producer:
              Kirill Marenkov
Lead Mediators:
              Kamronbek Karimov
              Jasmina Rakhmonova
              Xayrullo Temirov
Academic symposium curator:
              Aziza Izamova
Poetry programme curator:
              Katya García-Antón
Rice Cultures Festival curator:
              Marie Hélène Pereira

ARCHITECTURAL TEAM
              Waiwai Architects (Wael Al
              Awar & Rafal Sliwa)
              VOGT Landscape Architects
TECHNICAL TEAM
              Werner Sobek (Valentin Grudskiy)
              City Size (Akmal Umarov)
              Les Éclaireurs (Lucas Goy)
              Black Engineering

GRAPHIC DESIGN
              Studio Manuel Raeder
              (Eglé Petraskaite, Cecilia Murgia,
              Andrew J. Beltran, Loll Fraser,
              Sofie Leon, Manuel Raeder)

PUBLIC RELATIONS
               Scott & Co

The Bukhara Biennial team and participating artists are grateful for the support that made this inaugural edition possible.