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What we are doing

Open Call
Travel dates: April 19 to May 3, 2026 (exact dates to be confirmed).
Deadline to apply: January 20, 2026

The new updated Orbitals program invites participants to travel together and explore an artist’s practice as a vehicle for learning about a context, and to better understand an artist’s practice by learning about their context. For this first edition, we are delighted to invite artists and researchers to learn with and about the work of the exceptional Uzbek artist and filmmaker Saodat Ismailova. Born in Tashkent in 1981, Saodat is an artist who weaves myths, rituals, and dreams with everyday life to delve into the layered cultural memory of Central Asia. She foregrounds women’s narratives and spiritual practices in the post-Soviet context through her engagement with archival film, craft traditions, and oral histories.

For the upcoming edition of Orbitals, four invited participants will travel to Tashkent in Uzbekistan for two weeks to spend time with Saodat and her works, get to know the feminist curatorial and research collective DAVRA, which she initiated in 2021, as well as research the broader Uzbek art scene. The program is co-curated by Palestinian artist and filmmaker Noor Abed who will accompany the group.

Saodat’s work is extremely relevant for artists, curators, and researchers from the Arab World thinking through questions such as: Craft as living practice; women’s embodied knowledge; landscape and nature as cultural beings; social relations as means of artmaking; and how colonial narratives have actively tried to erase such local cultural forms and histories.

Invited participants commit to taking part in and contributing to all the program’s activities prior to and during the trip, and sharing their reflections after the trip in written, recorded, visual, or another format to be assigned by Mophradat. Mophradat will plan the program, provide the participants with flights, travel insurance, accommodation, and per diems, and reimburse visa costs.

Saodat Ismailova is an Uzbek filmmaker and artist who came of age in the post-Soviet era. Frequently based around oral stories, and exploring systems of knowledge suppressed by globalized modernity, her works hover between visible and invisible worlds. Graduated from Tashkent State Art Institute and Le Fresnoy, National Studio of Contemporary Arts, France she has established artistic lives between Paris and Tashkent. In 2021 she initiated DAVRA research collective to develop Central Asian art scene. In 2022 Saodat participated both in 59th Biennale of Venice and documenta fifteen. She received The Eye Art & Film Prize, Amsterdam in 2022, Fondation Pernod Ricard’s Nouveau Programme in 2025, and is a Medallist of Art Basel 2025. Her works are in the collections of Tate Modern, Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, The Centre of Pompidou, Paris, TBA21, FRAC Corsica, V&A, London, Almaty Museum of Arts, Kazakhstan and others.

DAVRA research collective was initiated in 2021, its mission is to connect and develop the Central Asian art scene by fostering dynamic exchanges of experiences and knowledge within the region as a priority. The collective’s focus is to study and reimagine Central Asia today through public programming, research, commissions, and beyond. DAVRA presented public event during Saodat’s participation at Documenta fifteen, published the book Chilltans that presents contemporary voices from Central Asia. DAVRA produced two essay films, Tashkent: 58-88 by Zumrad Mirzalieva and Whose Voice Is It? by Dana Iskakova. DAVRA’s collective installation Taming Waters and Women of Soviet Central Asia premiered at Biennale Matterof Art in Prague 2024 and since then traveled to Lahore Biennale and other exhibitions. DAVRA curated a number of film programs including at Eye Filmmuseum, Centre Pompidou, goEast – Festival of Central and Eastern European Film, and many others. The collective prioritizes educational programs, with regular labs in Central Asia to fill the gaps in contemporary art and beyond. DAVRA’s current focus is to continue its work on the theme of ecology, particularly on issues of water in the region through in-depth research, publication, workshops, and new commissions.

Noor Abed is a Palestinian artist who works at the intersection of performance and film. Her practice examines notions of social choreographies and collective formations, combining forms of the ‘staged’ and the ‘documentary.’

Past editions of Orbitals visited Mexico City (2018), Delhi and Chandigarh (2019), São Paulo/Rio De Janeiro (2022), Dakar (2023), and Indonesia (2024).

Specific eligibility criteria

In addition to complying with the general eligibility criteria that you can read here, please note the following:

  • Applicants must be from or living in the Arab world
  • Applicants must be curators, researchers in a field of contemporary arts, and/or artists whose practice extends into forms of public programming (all disciplines are welcome)
  • Applicants must have at least five years’ professional work experience in a field of contemporary arts, and be able to demonstrate prior experience working on international projects, exchange, or collaboration in their home country or abroad
  • Applicants must be engaged in a specific project that they are developing
  • Applicants must have a genuine interest in exploring Saodat Ismailova’s work and the subjects raised by engaging with her practice, DAVRA, and their wider community in Uzbekistan
  • To be considered, applicants must provide their CV, and a portfolio including documentation of three previous projects, along with the completed application form

Process

  • All applicants, whether shortlisted or not, will receive a response to their applications by February 5, 2026.
  • Shortlisted applicants will be invited for an online conversation to elaborate on their interests on Monday, February 2, 2026.
  • Selected applicants commit to attend and engage in two to three preparatory online meetings related to the trip in February and March, and any other preparatory meetings as needed.
  • During the trip, all members of the group will provide their reflections on their trip in a format that will be assigned by Mophradat (e.g. diary, podcast, essay etc.) with the aim of sharing their experience with a broader arts community.

*Please note that due to the high volume of applications and the confidentiality of the selection process, Mophradat cannot provide individual feedback explaining why an application was not selected.

**We want to get to know you through this application process and we don’t evaluate applications based on writing ability, so please be aware that we don’t want to read AI-generated answers.

Application

In order to prepare your application, you may already see the questions here.
You can only apply by filling an online form here.
Any material sent by email will not be considered.
For any questions, please email opencalls [at] mophradat [dot] org.