‘Saida Mirziyoyeva and her team have accomplished matters of the soul, that form a nation and give it pride’, US scholar Mark Edward Reese

'As I consider Saida Mirziyoyeva's successful implementation of the 'The Splendours of the Oases of Uzbekistan. At the Crossroads of the Caravan Routes exhibition' in Paris, my thoughts inevitably move me to the principle that the Arts and Humanities represent the bedrock of public diplomacy, the outward expression of the Uzbek people to the world. I say implementation because that is precisely what she has done: many people have good ideas; few can give them tangible form. What must happen first of all is to convince another nation that does not suffer mediocracy in the Arts to host such an exhibit. Then, the relentless engagement over four years to make it happen is an achievement that cannot be overstated—it is the hard work of diplomacy, doing the work no one wants to do.

Then, my thoughts turn to matters of the soul—the form and aesthetic of Central Asia's longue duree encapsulated in tangible objects—the collaboration between Central Asian and French experts. The breath-taking decisions must be made to say: this is who we are. We Uzbeks are the stewards of the achievements of those who came before us—the achievement in expressing to guests the context of the objects presented. Saida Mirziyoyeva and her team have accomplished matters of the soul that form a nation and give it pride.

Every society needs patrons. Decision makers who recognize the value of the Arts, not just on a macro scale, but further the work of those who do the hard work of creating on a day-to-day basis with little or no reward or acknowledgement. Those patrons form the link between local society and the international community, not as gatekeepers but as facilitators. Uzbekistan needs a massive increase in the patronage of the Arts both on the local and international levels to maintain and develop the next generation of creatives. Uzbekistan needs to host a massive level of international creatives so that local citizens can benefit from that creative synergy—not to mention creating foreign guests as ambassadors to Uzbek arts. The moment of Presidents Mirziyoyev and Emmanuel Macron gazing upon Central Asian art at the Louvre represented to me that moment we should all seize. In my 28 years of involvement with Uzbekistan, I have seen nothing like it: an act of public diplomacy revolving around the Arts meaningfully. Mrs Mirziyoyeva has met their measure after years of hard work and established credibility for future collaboration and development elsewhere. The fact that she is Qoqanlik warms my heart even further!'