Following Tajikistan in the Context of the Turkic-Persian World, which featured anthropologist Aeron O’Connor as a guest, the second event will take place on December 11 and will feature curator Sheida Ghomashchi in conversation with Saodat Ismailova, an Uzbek artist and filmmaker whose video Her Five Lives is featured in the exhibition.

During the conversation, Ismailova will explore the role of cultural syncretism and the influence of pre-Islamic religions—particularly Zoroastrianism—in shaping the symbolic universe of Central Asia and in relation to her work.

The event takes place as part of a collaboration that brings YOU ARE HERE. Central Asia into dialogue with Saodat Ismailova’s solo exhibition A Seed Under Our Tongue at Pirelli HangarBicocca. The event at Fondazione Elpis will be followed by a guided tour of the exhibition with Saodat Ismailova and Sheida Ghomashchi, to be held on Thursday, December 12, at 7:00 PM at Pirelli HangarBicocca.