The new updated Orbitals programme 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, Mophradat are inviting artists and researchers to learn with and about the work of the Uzbek artist and filmmaker Saodat Ismailova, travelling to Uzbekistan from 19 April to 3 May 2026.
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 programme is co-curated by Palestinian artist and filmmaker Noor Abed who will accompany the group.
Invited participants commit to taking part in and contributing to all the programme’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.
Eligibility includes 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
Mophradat will plan the programme, provide the participants with flights, travel insurance, accommodation, and per diems, and reimburse visa costs.
