The first work presented in the space is the video Her Right (2020) by artist Saodat Ismailova, drawn from the museum’s collection as part of the exhibition Qonaqtar.

Saodat Ismailova (b. 1981, Tashkent) works at the intersection of experimental documentary film and contemporary art. In her projects, she reinterprets the history of Central Asia, ecology, and the female experience, critically examining Orientalist and Soviet narratives.

The artist was educated in Tashkent and then continued her studies at the Fabrica art and communications center in Italy and the Le Fresnoy media arts center in France. Today, her practice is widely represented on the international art scene. Saodat Ismailova was a key participant in the 59th Venice Biennale and documenta fifteen—two of the most important events in the world of contemporary art. Her videos are held in the collections of leading institutions, including the Centre Pompidou in Paris, Tate Modern in London, and the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi. In 2022, the artist was awarded the prestigious Eye Art & Film Prize, given to creators working at the intersection of film and contemporary art. In 2024, she also received the gold medal for first prize in the Emerging category at the Art Basel Awards.

Ismailova’s artistic language draws heavily on the poetics of Uzbek cinema, where visual expressiveness is combined with symbolism and meditative storytelling.

The video Her Right (14 min. 47 sec.) addresses the Soviet Hujum campaign, which began in the 1920s. The campaign, whose name translates from Uzbek as “attack,” was an attempt by the Soviet authorities to emancipate women by urging them to abandon the traditional wearing of the chador.

Using footage from classic Uzbek cinema, the artist explores the complex impact of this policy on women’s lives. The work highlights their emotional experiences and reveals the contradictory reality in which women found themselves caught between traditions, promises of emancipation, the pressure of state ideology, and social threats.

The opening of the Media Hall expands the museum's media art program and creates a space for regular screenings of video works by artists from Central Asia and the international art scene.