Photo: YONAR was held for the second time on Barsakelmes. How did the art camp on the salt flat turn out?
On the Barsakelmes salt flat in Karakalpakstan, the second YONAR took place — an art camp that gathered 70 participants from Uzbekistan and other countries. They spent three days in a temporary "city" built by their own efforts, where they staged performances and created installations. How it went — in photographs by Feruz Rustamov.
Photo: YONAR took place on Barsakelmes for the second time. How did the art camp on the salt flat turn out?
From September 17 to 19, the Barsakelmes salt flat in Karakalpakstan hosted YONAR for the second time — an art camp and temporary creative settlement conceptually reminiscent of the international Burning Man festival in the Black Rock Desert, Nevada (USA). It is organized by the team behind the "Stihia" festival of electronic music, art, and science, with the support of the Tourism Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan.
This year, the theme of YONAR was dreams, surrealism, and everything that lies between reality and imagination. According to the organizers, Barsakelmes itself, with its "practically endless white space and horizon," proved to be the ideal place for artistic expression and the creation of "White Salt City" — a temporary creative settlement where the art project participants lived for three days and which they built for themselves.
The second YONAR was attended by 70 people from Uzbekistan, Karakalpakstan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Turkey, Austria, Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and Portugal. Among them were artists, musicians, architects, designers, researchers, IT specialists, and entrepreneurs.
The life of the art settlement was built around mutual aid and the contribution of each participant to the shared space — whether through creating and installing art objects, cooking food, hosting music sessions, or other activities. This time, the settlers flew kites, observed the night sky together with an astronomy club, and staged performances.
Art objects by Rustam Zakhidov, Ruslan Yuldashev, Anatoly Babakhanyan, Ravshan Babadjanov, Said Isaev, Otabek Suleimanov, and Derya Öcal (Turkey) appeared on Barsakelmes. These included "Molecule," Android, "Mirror Cube," "Red Parallelepiped," "Scorpion," and "Mars." The symbolic burning of two installations served as the final chord of the event.
A distinctive feature of YONAR is the absence of commercial trade and brands on the territory, as well as adherence to the "leave no trace" principle: after the people depart, the salt flat must remain exactly as it was before the participants arrived. The project's final report noted that the territory was completely cleared of temporary infrastructure and household waste. White Salt City disappeared as if it had never existed.
The YONAR team promises to return to Barsakelmes next year.