DAVRA: The research group bringing Central Asian heritage to light

DAVRA is the research group reimagining Central Asian history, culture and ritual through a revolutionary decolonial lens. Founded in 2021 by Uzbek filmmaker and artist Saodat Ismailova, DAVRA was conceived as an extension of her acclaimed project Chilltan, showcased during documenta fifteen, a major international art festival held in Germany. The group has since grown to embrace a number of artists, filmmakers and researchers, including Aïda Adilbek, Dana Iskakova, Madina Joldybek, Zumrad Mirzalieva, and Nazira Karimi. Together, the members cultivated a shared platform putting out art, exhibitions, publications and community-based events that reimagine Central Asian heritage and practices.

DAVRA embodies a commitment to amplifying the often obscured voices of Central Asia. Its mission is one long overdue for the world—an assertion of Central Asian identity, allowing it to counter the reductive and distorted portrayals imposed by external interpreters. “Central Asian culture and history is either unknown or told by foreign researchers and described through settlers’ vision,” DAVRA explains to Dazed MENA. “Our goal is to study the history and the culture that is known and re-imagine it—the region itself—with many changes happening today.”

The group is striving to grasp the intricate nuances of a culture forged through centuries of resilience and transformation. “Our work is fuelled by a deep connection, love and care for Central Asia; a desire and willingness to learn more about our history, culture and mixed identities,” the collective shares with Dazed MENA. “The realisation that our voices and perspectives can shed light on important discourses and eventually bring change.” 

The word ‘davra’ is of Persian origin, meaning ‘circle’; for the group, the name is an invitation for all to gather and deepen interconnectedness through discussion. Intergenerational dialogue and the preservation it engenders is a vital element of the group’s work; it’s through ritual, gathering and creativity that it hopes to unite people from the region. “Collective work is fuelling and empowering because even though we have different individual practices, we talk in the same language and care about the same things,” they tell us.

One of the group’s remarkable achievements so far includes the production of the book Chilltan: Shapeshifting Eternal Spirits from Central Asia, which interprets mythological entities with visual and textual storytelling. The publication investigates the realm of Chilltans—shape-shifting, fluid sacred spirits integral to Central Asian spiritual traditions, heroic antidotes to grating reality. It captures the communal rituals of self-discovery and knowledge exchange that unfolded during the group’s time at documenta fifteen in Kassel. “Our paramount role as artists and researchers is to be at the forefront of the knowledge production process within Central Asia,” DAVRA group elucidates.  

They then launched fridzine—a zine that poses and answers the question ‘What can we do in a museum?’—referring to the Fridericianum, one of Europe’s oldest museums, where DAVRA has previously hosted. Group members conducted research on the museum staff and peer collectives to examine how they might free the space from its image of prejudicial colonial concepts. “We hope that our work and practice may encourage more voices coming from Central Asia and we will build a big, strong community together,” they voice to Dazed MENA.

Since 2023, the group has curated a number of Central Asian video and film screenings which took place across Europe, including at the Eye Museum in the Netherlands, at Centre Pompidou in France, and goEast 2023 film festival in Germany. There, the group represented artistic expression for their region and planted a critical seed to engender dialogue. “We wish for our creative and cultural scene to become a visible, immense force of change in our region,” the group highlights. “We also hope that it might inspire a theoretical realm of academic and non-academic researchers to create, write and document.”

The collective is actively engaged in several upcoming international exhibitions, including works in Verona, Lahore, and Paris. Their installation Taming Women and Waters in Soviet Asia in Verona, which began as a commission for the Biennale Matter of Art’s Prague exhibition, scrutinised the historical connections between inadequate water management and female labour in Soviet-era Central Asia, focusing on the Great Fergana Canal and cotton production. Through installations of cotton-picking aprons, documentary photographs, and reworked archival footage, it underscored the enduring impact of women’s contributions and prompted a critical reevaluation of existing narratives. 

“We believe our work is a direct reflection on our past, present and future,” the group affirms. “Our latest installations and video works created by DAVRA members are deeply engrossed in archival footage and colonial Soviet film history of the region. Creating video essays, collages and installations with these materials might help to find a way to reinvent and redefine the stories and do justice to certain historical narratives.”

Be it as a formidable force prompting critical reflection in opposition to colonial narratives, or as a support group bringing together Central Asian creatives to heal through ritual and art, DAVRA is the multifunctional hub garnering much-needed visibility and recognition for their culture. A research group, artist network and support system all in one, the collective is a telltale sign that a revolutionary future is upon us, one that elevates the long-silenced voices sharing indigenous stories. “We hope that with our work that new rethought and redefined discourses will start to form.”