Instagram story viewer> @zuma.mir> Tagged

zumrad mirzalieva

@zuma.mir

2.4K

followers

1329

following

visual artist/ cultural programmer based in Tashkent/New York
@davracollective program & fundraising director
@magnumfoundation fellow

POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

Developing from Saodat Ismailova’s (@saodatismailova) project 𝘊𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘵𝘢𝘯 for documenta fifteen, DAVRA (@davracollective) presented a 40-day public programme and published 𝘊𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘴, a book representing contemporary voices from Central Asia.

Since then, the collective has produced two essay films 𝘛𝘢𝘴𝘩𝘬𝘦𝘯𝘵: 58-88 by Zumrad Mirzalieva (@zuma.mir) and 𝘞𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘵? by Dana Iskakova (@damaiskakova). Its collective installation, 𝘛𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘞𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘞𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘚𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘵 𝘊𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘈𝘴𝘪𝘢 premiered at the 2024 Biennale Matter of Art (@biennale.matterof.art) in Prague before travelling to other exhibitions. The work was subsequently acquired by Muzeum Sztuki (@muzeumsztuki) in Łódź.

DAVRA has also curated film programmes at institutions and festivals including Eye Filmmuseum (@eye_film), Centre Pompidou (@centrepompidou), and goEast Film Festival (@goeastff), among others.

Education remains a priority in DAVRA’s practice, with regular labs held across Central Asia to address gaps in contemporary art education and beyond. Building on its ongoing research, the collective is currently focused on exploring issues surrounding water in the region through in-depth research, publications, workshops, and new commissions.

📸 DAVRA Research Collective, 𝘊𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘵𝘢𝘯, Publication. Courtesy of DAVRA Research Collective.

DAVRA Research Collective, 𝘊𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘵𝘢𝘯, Public programme documentation at documenta fifteen, 2022. Courtesy of DAVRA Research Collective.

DAVRA Research Collective, 𝘊𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘵𝘢𝘯, Public programme documentation at documenta fifteen, 2022. Courtesy of DAVRA Research Collective.

DAVRA Research Collective, 𝘊𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘵𝘢𝘯, Public programme documentation at documenta fifteen, 2022. Courtesy of DAVRA Research Collective.

Zumrad Mirzalieva, 𝘛𝘢𝘴𝘩𝘬𝘦𝘯𝘵: 58–88, 2024, Film stills. Courtesy of DAVRA Research Collective.

Zumrad Mirzalieva, 𝘛𝘢𝘴𝘩𝘬𝘦𝘯𝘵: 58–88, 2024, Film stills. Courtesy of DAVRA Research Collective.

Zumrad Mirzalieva, 𝘛𝘢𝘴𝘩𝘬𝘦𝘯𝘵: 58–88, 2024, Film stills. Courtesy of DAVRA Research Collective.

Dana Iskakova, 𝘞𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘝𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘐𝘴 𝘐𝘵?, 2024, Film s

3

0

About DAVRA (@davracollective)

DAVRA is a research group dedicated to connecting and developing the Central Asian art scene by fostering dynamic exchanges of experiences and knowledge, especially within the region.

Initiated in 2021 by Saodat Ismailova as an extension of her project 𝘊𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘵𝘢𝘯 for documenta fifteen, DAVRA has been actively working across Central Asia and beyond through public programmes, publications, curatorial projects, and collective research.

As part of the 16th Gwangju Biennale (@gwangjubiennale), TAF supported DAVRA’s ongoing discursive and publication projects, as well as the collective’s contributions to the Biennale’s closing programme in November.

👤 Saodat Ismailova (@saodatismailova), Founder Photo: Victor & Simon / Joana Luz

👤 Dilda Ramadan (@arty.ninja), Curatorial Director
Image courtesy of Dilda Ramazan

👤 Zumrad Mirzalieva (@zuma.mir), Programmes and Fundraising Director
Photo: Joe Habben / Fabrica Research Centre

👤 Jazgul Madazimova (@madazimova), Artist
Image courtesy of Jazgul Madazimova

3

2

Want to follow along the 2026 ArtsLink Fellowships?

Dive into 𝑫𝑰𝑺𝑷𝑨𝑻𝑪𝑯𝑬𝑺, a live journal where the ArtsLink Fellows from Palestine, Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Ukraine, Hungary, and Uzbekistan share their experiences in their own words and photos.

Updated weekly, it is a collective chronicle of weeks of residencies with their Fellowships host organizations in the US and Europe.

👉 Link in bio to read 𝑫𝑰𝑺𝑷𝑨𝑻𝑪𝑯𝑬𝑺

3

0

Wishing this year's ArtsLink Fellows an excellent start to their in-person residencies!

After months of connecting from afar, six artists from Palestine, Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Ukraine, Hungary, and Uzbekistan begin their Fellowships at their host organizations in the US and Europe.

We can't wait to see what the coming weeks bring: new ideas, creative partnerships, and relationships that last.

Then, to close out the Fellowships, the Fellows will come together in New York this November for the 2026 ArtsLink Assembly.

ArtsLink Fellows & Hosts:
♦️ Kseniia Opria, Ukraine, curator, editor, and filmmaker specializing in documentary and experimental cinema.
📍 Hosted by Charlotte Mangin and Dara Messinger at DCTV, a nonprofit media arts center in New York City’s Chinatown. In partnership with Razom for Ukraine.

♦️ Areej Ashhab, Palestine, artist, architect, and researcher engaging in community land practices and material ecologies
📍 Co-hosted in Amsterdam by Mariela Acuña, Director of Exhibitions and Residency at Hyde Park Art Center in Chicago
and Jiyoung Kim at Framer Framed, a Dutch platform for contemporary art, visual culture, and critical theory.

♦️ Mátyás Tóth, Hungary, a puppet and theater artist working with issues of social impact and responsibility
📍 Hosted by of S.Y. Lim, Director of Programming, Public Media Institute, an independent media & cultural nonprofit in Chicago

♦️ Nabila Horakhsh, Afghanistan/Germany, artist and curator working with the topics of oppression, religious extremism and gender discrimination
📍 Co-hosted by Lila Nazemian, Programs Director at New York based ArteEast and Silva Jährling, Academic Affairs/International Cooperations, at HFBK Hamburg Artists in Residence, in Germany.

♦️ Zumrad Mirzalieva, Uzbekistan, photographer and filmmaker focusing on the issues of agency, migration and identity
📍 Hosted by independent curator and researcher, Tamara Khasanova in Brooklyn

♦️ Altynai Osmo, Kyrgyzstan, artist with a practice rooted in Central Asian nomadic heritage and politically driven by social awareness and women's empowerment
📍 Hosted by Sheila A. Rocha, at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe

94

4

Cats and the city 🌆

3

3

Join Magnum Foundation and the New York Immigration Coalition @thenyic for two evenings of visual storytelling and conversation about the urgent and interconnected issues of climate crisis and migration.

Featuring projects by photographers Farhana Satu @aronnika, Zumrad Mirzalieva @zuma.mir, Kunga Tashi Lepcha @kunga_tashi, Uma Bista @uma.bista and Chemi Dorje @majime_ukiyo, and remarks by climate migration experts Shana Tabak and Alejandro Martin Rodriguez @alemartinrguez

🗓 Tuesday, September 22 and Thursday, September 24 | 6:30–8:30 PM
📍Online and in-person at Magnum Foundation | 59 E 4th St, 7W | New York, NY 10003
🔗 More info + RSVP at magnumfoundation.org/events

This event series is produced with support from the National Partnership for New Americans @npnewamericans

📸 Photo by Farhana Satu @aronnika

326

4

The grand finale of Leo season 🐾

3

20

”Interview with Zumrad Mirzalieva“ is now free to watch on ARTMargins Online.

In this conversation, Zumrad Mirzalieva reflects on her artistic practice, archival research, and the lasting legacies of Soviet colonialism in Central Asia. The interview explores how contemporary art engages with memory, history, and decolonial perspectives across the region. Link in bio!

#ARTMargins #ARTMarginsOnline #ContemporaryArt #CentralAsia #ArtistInterview

18

0

📷 Zumrad Mirzalieva (@zuma.mir) uses photography to examine how gender shapes access to public space, challenging the invisible boundaries that define who belongs where.

Her ongoing series, Sartaroshxona (the Uzbek word for “barbershop”), takes viewers inside traditionally male-only spaces in Uzbekistan. By entering these environments as a woman, Mirzalieva questions long-established gender norms while drawing thoughtful parallels between men’s barbershops and women’s beauty salons, both of which serve as vital spaces for community. Through this comparison, Mirzalieva challenges rigid ideas of gender while highlighting the shared human need for belonging.

As traditional Uzbek barbershops disappear under the influence of globalisation and increasingly standardised Western aesthetics, Sartaroshxona also becomes an important act of cultural preservation. Mirzalieva’s work reminds us that documenting a place is never only about architecture or tradition; it is also about questioning who has the freedom to enter, who gets to tell its stories and whose perspective has historically been left outside the frame. Ultimately, the project challenges the entrenched gender dichotomy that shapes everyday life in Uzbekistan.

#zumradmirzalieva #sartaroshxona #documentaryphotography #genderequality #gendernorms

131

6

Feel the rain on your skin

32

6

31

3

Your Laguna Gal or the world’s shortest-lived blowout 🧜🏼‍♀️

3

6