Two Clay Traditions: Liwan Partners with Uzbekistan Art and Culture Development Foundation on Ceramics Residency

Liwan Design Studios and Labs has announced a new ceramics residency with the Uzbekistan Art and Culture Development Foundation (ACDF), in collaboration with the Qatar Fashion & Crafts Council (QFCC). Bringing renowned Uzbek clay masters from the Rahimov family to Doha, the programme will connect creatives in Qatar with Uzbekistan’s ceramic traditions through workshops, practical learning and cultural exchange.

Through hands-on workshops and collaborative production, participants will work alongside the Uzbek masters at the wheel and the glazing bench, developing ceramic pieces that combine Qatari and Uzbek forms, glazes and surface decoration. The process will give participants opportunities to build their technical skills and explore new approaches to contemporary ceramics through the exchange of knowledge and techniques.

Liwan’s Clay Lab will serve as the centre for design and production throughout the residency, with support from clay resident Noora Al Melhim. Working with locally sourced clays, participants will explore Qatar’s natural landscapes as a source of material, testing what they find against the techniques shared by the visiting masters.

Aisha Nasser Al Sowaidi, Director of Liwan Design Studios and Labs, said: “Ceramics is learned through the hands, and there is no substitute for working beside a master. This residency gives practitioners in Qatar that chance and lets them test what they learn against our own clay and landscapes. What comes out of the Clay Lab will be shaped by two tradition's and made to be used, every day, at the table.”

Gayane Umerova, Chairperson of the Uzbekistan Art and Culture Development Foundation, said: “Uzbekistan’s craft traditions are living forms of knowledge, passed through generations and continually renewed. The Rakhimov family, representing the sixth and seventh generations of ceramicists, embody this continuity: preserving inherited knowledge while creating, experimenting and developing new approaches. This residency brings that tradition into dialogue with Qatari practitioners, creating space for exchange, innovation and lasting connections through craft and contemporary design.”

Alisher and Shokhrukh Rakhimov represent two generations of a family whose practice combines the preservation of Uzbek ceramic traditions with contemporary interpretation. Alisher has participated in UNESCO projects dedicated to reviving historic ceramic technologies and received the title of Honoured Art Worker of Uzbekistan in 2012. Shokhrukh carries this inheritance into contemporary ceramics, with international experience including a Homo Faber Fellowship from the Michelangelo Foundation.

The eight participating practitioners are Neslihan Kiraz Tepe, Fatima Javed Shiekh, Soraya Sus, Ewa Merchel, Hatice Coşar, Hifa AlKhuzai, Hameed Al-Qahtani and Faisal Haman Adama.

The collaboration pairs Liwan’s role as a platform for design experimentation and production with ACDF’s work to preserve and promote Uzbekistan’s cultural heritage and create opportunities for creative practitioners. Beyond the finished tableware, the residency will leave lasting skills and ideas within Qatar’s ceramics while strengthening creative ties between Qatar and Uzbekistan.

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