MILWAUKEE, WI.- The Haggerty Museum of Art at Marquette University opened the exhibit Art and Conflicts in Central Asia through January 21, 2007. Provocative, contemporary art from a new generation of Central Asian artists. The exhibition focuses on issues of conflict in areas that have been “hot spots” of political unrest following the divide of the Soviet Union into European and Eastern states.

Valeria Ibraeva, co-curator of the exhibition and director of the Soros Center for Contemporary Art of Almaty (Kazakhstan).

Art and Conflicts in Central Asia features provocative, contemporary art from a new generation of Central Asian artists. The exhibition focuses on issues of conflict in areas that have been hot spots of political unrest following the divide of the Soviet Union into European and Eastern states.

The featured work in Art and Conflicts in Central Asia comes from the eastern states of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. Since the break-up of the Soviet Union, artists from these areas have been able to express the complexities of their individual situations and that of their countries through art. The artists are working in a variety of mediums, relying heavily on video and photography as documentary tools.

Art and Conflicts in Central Asia will offer a rare opportunity to learn more about Central Asia, its history and people through contemporary art. A primary theme of the exhibition is how history impacts the cultural identity of societies emerging from a totalitarian government. Global economics, politics and the history of religions are some of the issues tackled by the featured artists.