Saodat Ismailova

Kunsthalle Bern is pleased to present the first solo exhibition in Switzerland by Uzbek artist and filmmaker Saodat Ismailova. Ismailova’s films and installations unfold along the fault lines of Central Asian landscapes steeped in ritual and myth, shifting borders and migration, and the invisible forces of empire shaping the psycho-material terrains of the present.

The exhibition revolves around Ismailova’s newly commissioned film Amanat (2026), whose title references that which is entrusted in one’s care, and denotes a sacred responsibility that demands to be honored, protected, and passed on. The film marks the concluding chapter of Ismailova’s long-term engagement with Arslanbob, a vast walnut forest in present-day Kyrgyzstan, revered for centuries as a spiritual site. Working across film, installation, archives, and sound, Ismailova explores the cultural and spiritual histories of Central Asia through myth, oral tradition, ritual, and lived experience.

Amanat is co-commissioned by Swiss Institute (New York) and LUMA Foundation (Arles).