Tashkent: The New Home of Murals

The first mural appeared on the side of the Grand business centre on Shota Rustaveli Street. It was an event covered by the media and widely discussed by city residents on social media.

Source: Dima FATUM's Facebook page

The artist was Kyiv-based Dima FATUM, known for his murals on buildings in cities across Europe and Asia. He worked with curator Maria Uvarova to create a piece connected to Uzbekistan.

It is worth noting that they succeeded in making that connection, and it works on two levels: figuratively, as a link to Uzbek identity, and literally, through the work’s connection to its location. The tree standing in front of the wall is part of the composition.

Here is how Dima FATUM himself describes it on his Facebook page:

The composition also includes a cotton ornament, atlas, an excavation of an ancient fortress associated with Tamerlane and a gold prospector. There is also a camel, the obligatory pomegranate and a cut-open melon, as well as the stump of a felled tree. It is almost a checklist of identity markers. The mural is wonderfully dreamlike and makes you want to keep looking, discovering its hidden signs. Critics have pointed out that, on the one hand, it presents the established European view of the so-called “East”. On the other, that is not necessarily a bad thing, as local artists with an “inside” perspective will also have the opportunity to express their own view through their work.

What matters is that the first mural introduced residents to both the word and the phenomenon, opened the way for a new direction in art and slightly changed the way people viewed the urban environment.

What Exactly Is a “Mural”?

It is a good time to recall how the concept came about. Murals, wall paintings as a distinct art form, emerged in Mexico during the revolutionary upheavals of the 1920s. As we remember from Soviet history, artists after the 1917 Revolution also tried to make sense of and reflect on what was happening, experimenting with new forms and formats in the visual arts.

Source: Za Rubezhom newspaper

In Mexico, the government funded the creation of monumental paintings reflecting the changes taking place in the country, the ideals of the revolution and the rejection of the old world in the early days of the movement. Large-scale images in the style of political posters expressed protest against the “old” way of life. Gradually, wall paintings became a natural part of the urban environment and grew popular in cities around the world, retaining the Mexican name for the phenomenon, derived from muro, meaning “wall”.

The protest origins of the form have largely faded, giving way to beautiful, soothing images. At the same time, murals often respond to the social problems of cities, including environmental, economic and other issues.

The same kind of dilution can be seen in other art forms too, music for instance. Rock and rap originally emerged as forms of protest, but became popular, and their rebellious edge either disappeared or became almost cartoonish. After all, what protest is there in Russian rock or Uzbek rap? It is simply fashionable music, popular with a particular generation.

Tashkent’s murals can likewise be divided, broadly speaking, into soothing images of doves against blue skies and more conceptual, thematic works. Naturally, social media is full of opinions on the subject. Some people complain that they have had enough of doves and blue skies and want something more substantial in the imagery. Others reply that after watching international news, what they want is precisely blue skies and doves.

We have previously written about how murals brighten up neighbouring Almaty:

Almaty’s Murals: An Open-Air GalleryA mural is a large-scale artistic image created directly on a building wall, façade or another architectural surface. Unlike ordinary graffiti, a mural is more often conceived as an artwork in its own right, connected to a particular place and the urban environment. It can tell the story of a neighbourhood, reflect cultural traditions, honour famous people or simply change the atmosphere of a familiar urban space. Almaty’s murals have become an important part of the city’s contemporary culture. They turn blank walls into open-air galleries and make art accessible to everyone. There is no need to seek it out in a museum or gallery; you only have to step outside.mag.humodoc.com

When it comes to wall painting, of course, we have to mention the work of the artist known as Inkuzart. His works first appeared in Chilanzar during the coronavirus lockdown and continue to appear today. His latest much-discussed work is dedicated to the FIFA World Cup and can be seen on a fence on Shota Rustaveli Street. All of Inkuzart’s works carry a subtext, and many address social and environmental issues. Sadly, his works are disappearing, with around 40 having been painted over. Even so, walking tours devoted to his work continue to be organised, and interest in it has not faded.

Do Inkuzart’s works count as murals, or are they graffiti? The question is largely artificial, since there is no clear boundary between murals and graffiti. There are, however, certain conventions, for example:

1. 01A mural is usually a large-scale image with a complex composition, while graffiti is generally a smaller, unauthorised drawing created quickly on any surface.
2. 02A mural is usually commissioned by a city or a business, whereas graffiti is initiated by the artist.
3. 03Both murals and graffiti use similar techniques: poster-like imagery, grotesque forms, bright spray-paint colours and recognisable artistic signatures.

As we can see, the distinction is blurred, and one of Inkuzart’s works could quite reasonably be classified as a mural. This is the well-known Tashkent work featuring portraits of three enlighteners and literary figures, Abdulla Qadiri, Chulpan and Abdurauf Fitrat. The composition covers the first floor of the end wall of a building facing Mukimi Street and, alongside the portraits, features a poem by Abdulla Qadiri that remains relevant today.

It is worth noting that the creation of this composition in 2021 marked the beginning of a series of initiatives aimed at restoring the memory of the Jadids. It was followed by exhibitions and lectures by Maksud Askarov, a remarkable multimedia exhibition at Tashkent City Mall and a series of publications by Nodira Khidoyatova.

Then, in 2024, a new mural devoted to the Jadid movement appeared on the wall of the office of the Museum of Victims of Repression on the Bozsu side. Its composition features portraits of the enlighteners Abdulla Qadiri, Mahmudkhoja Behbudiy, Munavvar Qari Abdurashidkhanov, Abdurauf Fitrat, Abdulla Avloniy and Abdulhamid Chulpon. This time, the mural was created on the initiative of the Public Foundation for the Support and Development of National Mass Media and the State Museum of Victims of Repression.

Photo: Intruder

Speaking of support for murals and graffiti, it is worth remembering that in spring 2022 the hokimiyat backed the idea of developing street art. Furkat Makhmudkhodjaev, who was then Deputy Hokim of Tashkent and head of the department for supporting mahallas and families, brought enthusiasts and activists together to discuss ideas. At the start of the project Mahallada Duv-Duv Gap: Drawings on Mahalla Walls, they decided to gather suggestions for suitable locations for the artworks. The main result of the initiative was that the activists realised that it was now officially allowed, that the city had given its permission, and that no one would be taken away by the police for painting a wall.

We remember this official support when exploring Tashkent’s murals. Most of them are concentrated in the Sergeli district and appeared with the support of Elbek Shukurov, who was the district hokim from 2020 to 2025. Almost all of these murals are worth stopping to look at. They are genuinely interesting.

6 Notable Murals

Source: Anons.uz

Take, for example, this striking work depicting a woman doctor holding in her arms a tubeteika with a baby inside. Echoing the Christian Madonna tradition, the composition is dedicated to the tragedy of the coronavirus pandemic. The mural was initiated by the Ziyo Forum Foundation for the Development of Science and Education and the district hokimiyat as a tribute to the medical workers who saved the lives of children and adults. Creating the mural, located at the intersection of Yangi Sergeli and Lutfkor Streets, required 720 litres of fuel for the machinery, 53 kilograms of paint and 80 hours of work by the artist at height.

Source: mytashkent.uz

An unusual mural featuring a landscape stretches across two perpendicular walls at 2 and 3 Sergeli-8A.

Another mural has a bright, festive appearance. Created for World Car-Free Day, it features a heart and a cyclist promoting a healthy lifestyle. The work is located near a metro station on the border between Sergeli and Yangihaayot districts. It was created by the young artists’ collective Brushers.

Source: Darakchi

The most unusual mural in Sergeli, however, is known for helping to clean the air. It was painted with Airlite, a paint that uses sunlight to neutralise harmful particles in the atmosphere, converting nitrogen oxides into harmless nitrates. According to the organisers, TBC Bank and artist Nadezhda Riksieva, the air-cleaning effect of the 250-square-metre mural is comparable to that of a forest of the same size, neutralising air pollution produced by 50 cars.

Another Sergeli mural stands out from the rest for its conceptual edge, bordering on aggression. It depicts a speeding motorcyclist in contrasting black, white and yellow, the embodiment of every boy’s dream. The Uzbek inscription “Sen barchasiga qodirsan” translates as “You are capable of anything”. A motivational work of art, urging you to get moving.

Beyond Sergeli, Tashkent has another concentration of murals. They appeared here in 2022 following the reconstruction of Gagarin and Chilanzar Streets. On Gagarin Street, two striking works appeared on the end walls of old multi-storey blocks built in 1958, both naturally linked to space. Both were created with a good deal of humour. In one, a cosmonaut sits on a crescent moon as if it were a piece of cheese; in the other, he holds our planet in his hands. Two more murals on Chilanzar Street face one another on opposite buildings. One shows doves flying through a cloudy sky; the other also features a stele erected to mark the 30th anniversary of Independence. Incidentally, one of these buildings is the very same one bearing the portraits of the three Jadids.

It is also worth mentioning the mural on the wall of the underpass near TSUM (Central Department Store), created in 2023 by artist Diyora Mamadaliyeva with the support of the United Nations Development Programme and the Tashkent City administration’s Department for Family and Women’s Affairs. The mural is dedicated to the “Call Umida” project, which promotes safer streets for girls, women and children with disabilities.

That brings our survey to an end, otherwise it could go on indefinitely. New murals are constantly appearing in the capital, for example in Yunusabad’s 9th quarter, the former Panelny residential district, along Makhtumkuli Street and elsewhere.

As we have seen, Tashkent’s murals respond to a range of needs, from social and environmental concerns to aesthetic and even psychological ones, since some have a calming effect.

Three Final Notes

First. Tashkent’s murals, of course, appeared on ground prepared by centuries-old ornamental traditions and panjara, as well as by the remarkable mosaics that adorn our buildings.

Second, and sadly. It is not all rosy. Consider this comment from Natalia Petrovna:

Let’s not end on a sad note. The capital’s urban environment is becoming more vibrant all the time, with new works appearing regularly. So there is also a third note.

Anyone who thinks Tashkent lacks visual creativity should take a walk through the streets of Tbilisi. Buildings, fences, underpasses and virtually every available surface are covered in graffiti. At first it is delightful, then it becomes tiring, and eventually you may even find yourself wanting to wash it all off or paint it over just to get rid of the visual clutter. Better in moderation, and better when it is done well and with some soul.