From Getty to the Golden Road
Former Getty Graduate Intern Otabek Abdubositov reflects on his past experiences and the importance of promoting the cultural heritage of his homeland, Uzbekistan
Former Graduate Intern Otabek Abdubositov
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Uzbekistan, in the heart of Central Asia, is a nation of breathtaking beauty and rich historical roots.
Cities like Samarkand, Bukhara, and Khiva are living testaments to the country’s enduring legacy, their ancient mosaics, minarets, and majestic madrassas reflecting the diverse cultural exchange fostered by the Silk Road—a vast network of trade routes active from the second century BCE to the mid-15th century.
Tashkent, Uzbekistan’s capital, blends Soviet-era design with modern vitality and a renewed focus on cultural preservation. For Otabek Abdubositov, Tashkent is also home.
A Getty Graduate Intern for the Museum’s Department of Public Affairs from September 2023 to August 2024, Abdubositov is now employed at the Cultural Heritage Agency of Uzbekistan, where he is involved in the creation and promotion of exhibitions and other cultural programs.
“My current job has so many things in common with my position at Getty,” he says. “My aim had always been to learn as much as possible and bring those skills back to Uzbekistan to promote and preserve the cultural heritage of my country.”
One of the most impactful experiences during his Getty internship, he says, was working on signage to improve the visitor journey at the Getty Center and Villa, from the parking lots all the way to the galleries and back. “It was a valuable opportunity to explore how to communicate cultural content more effectively.”
A gifted graphic designer, Abdubositov also produced signage for the Information Desk and a mobile-friendly version of the Getty calendar, which lists public programs, tours, and exhibitions taking place on any particular day. In addition, he created wayfinding materials, Wi-Fi information displays, and ephemera such as Getty’s popular free bookmarks featuring collection objects.
“Communications work stands at the intersection of so many other departments, and my position allowed me to see what others were doing and learn about how to promote their great work,” he says.
Abdubositov also engaged with Google Arts & Culture to produce online exhibitions about Getty’s collection. This collaboration resulted in an invitation to visit Google’s Cultural Institute headquarters in Paris during his internship study trip. “While I was there, I was able to experiment with their latest AI features,” he says. “And now I’m planning an international conference in Samarkand on the role of AI in museums to help preserve cultural heritage.”
His current responsibilities at the Cultural Heritage Agency of Uzbekistan include various aspects of exhibition production and promotion—from compiling curatorial checklists to editing multilingual catalogues. But he is still committed to improving the visitor experience.
Gallery view of Ural Tansykbayev: Retrospective of Creativity, organized with the support of Kazakhstan's Ministry of Culture. Photo courtesy of Otabek Abdubositov
Abdubositov is developing several projects aimed at promoting Uzbek culture throughout the world.
In Almaty, Kazakhstan, he worked on the exhibition Ural Tansykbayev: Retrospective of Creativity, organized with the support of the Ministry of Culture and Information of Kazakhstan. Tansykbayev (1904–1974), an Uzbek painter with Kazakh heritage, was widely celebrated for his artworks depicting life in Central Asia during the Soviet period. In April, Abdubositov traveled to UNESCO’s headquarters in Paris to mount another show, A Look Through Time: The Legacy of Khudaibergan Devanov. Devanov is considered the father of Central Asian cinema, and the exhibition focused on his photographs of his hometown, Khiva, a city founded in the sixth century BCE and the first in Uzbekistan to be added to the UNESCO World Heritage List, in 1991.
The Devanov display represented the kickoff of the 43rd biannual UNESCO General Conference, which will take place in Samarkand in November 2025. This is the first time that Uzbekistan will host the event.
The General Conference represents a great opportunity for the Cultural Heritage Agency of Uzbekistan, Abdubositov says, and for the conference he is working on a show about the history and spectacular Islamic architecture of the Registan, the heart of the city of Samarkand. He is also collaborating with UNESCO on a series of presentations across the world aimed at promoting Uzbek cultural heritage.
“After over four years abroad, I was determined to come back and work in the cultural sector of my country. I feel deeply gratified that I'm able to realize my dream.”
