With women’s rights continually under threat and the question of gender equality still hanging in the air, a significant collateral exhibition at this year’s Venice Biennale pays homage to women from Central Asia and the wider continent. Still creative scenes largely underrepresented, the show, titled Turandot: To the Daughters of the East and curated by Dr Ziba Ardelan, the founder of the non-profit Parasol Unit, presents the works of 11 female artists from Asia and Central Africa to reveal individual and collective stories of strength, perseverance and creativity. The show’s theme echoes that of the 61st International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, the world’s oldest and most prestigious biennale, running until November 22, 2026. Titled In Minor Keys, curated by the late Koyo Kouoh, it explores art as a quieter form of resistance, focusing on personal stories of history and trauma, largely by artists from underrepresented nations.
Lovers of opera will without a doubt be familiar with name of the exhibition’s title: Turandot. Ardelan has cleverly reimagined the protagonist from Giacomo Puccini’s epic 1924 work. Instead of the cold, aloof presence in Puccini’s opera, Dr Ardelan proposes a more nuanced reading of the enduring figure, demonstrating how her origins date back to before the opera was created, to a 12th century Persian poem where she appears as Nasrin Nush. The exhibition proposes a new reading of Turandot as a character symbolising strength and independence against all odds.
“The theme of Turandot was the main inspiration because, paradoxically, it is timely and echoes the concerns of millions or even billions of modern women,” states the curator. “The figure of Turandot, which since the 18th century has appeared in the Western world as a cruel and cold-hearted Chinese princess in theatre and opera, goes back to 1197, when the Persian poet Nezami Ganjavi, in his romantic poem Haft Peykar [Seven Beauties], spoke of Nasrin Nush, a princess from a far-distant land who, through her intelligence, poise and prudence, captivated the pre-Islamic king Bahram Gur’s attention. The characteristic differences between Turandot and Nasrin Nush explain, in more than one way, the disparities between the East and the West, which still exist in our time.”
Ardelan emphasises how the artists presented, hailing largely from the regions of Central Asia and the Levant, are parts of the world which: “have lived through countless invasions and conquests, which they nevertheless managed to survive.”
The exhibition features both new and classic artworks that span multiple artistic disciplines. These include the installations of Afruz Amighi, Saodat Ismailova and Nazira Karimi; video works by Tala Madani, Lida Abdul, Daria Kim and Hera Büyüktașcıyan; sculptural works by Huma Bhabha and Mona Hatoum and mixed media works that blend painting, sound and textile by Farideh Lashai and Madina Joldybek.
Through their works, these female artists engage powerfully with social and global concerns, addressing not only themes of displacement and hardship but also myth and history.
On one wall a short three-minute and 26-second single-channel digital animation titled The Womb by Iranian-American contemporary artist Tala Madani portrays an alarming, witty and humorous development of a single embryo and its impact on the evolutionary history of the entire human race. The moving images echo Madani’s signature use of pink to juxtapose soft, feminine pastel tones with more absurdist and edgy subject matter. In the film, a growing foetus nestled within the fleshy womb observes a quick synopsis of human history characterised by violence, technology, media and medical concerns. As the foetus reaches its final stages and is ready to enter the world, it transforms to become armed with its own baby-sized weapon, ready to take on anyone who provokes or disturbs the peace.
Afruz Amighi’s delicate glimmering sculptural installation Opium House Tears (2024) is in delicate contrast and features long rays akin to cascading rain or, as the title suggests, tears, made from Swarovski crystals and empty Bic pens to commemorate Iran’s child soldiers and themes of light and shadow. The late Farideh Lashai’s lyrical landscape paintings are also on show, animated by Alice in Wonderland-style cartoon characters titled Dear! Dear! How Queer Everything Is Today (2010) that invite the viewer into a fusion of images that reference historical figures and fiction. The iconic multimedia work, which serves as a finale to her renowned Rabbit in Wonderland series, merges Western literary motifs to explore the turbulent socio-political history of 20th century Iran. The piece features a dark oil painting portraying the former Iranian Prime Minister Dr Mohammad Mossadegh while an animated rabbit in panic is projected on to the painting. The rabbit hops around the figure of Mossadegh, while a recording of Lashai’s own voice engages in an existential monologue inspired by text from Alice in Wonderland. There’s also the poignant and philosophical film by Saodat Ismailova exploring spiritual and collective memory in Uzbekistan and Central Asia titled 18,000 Worlds.
“During the Enlightenment period in the 18th century, there was a fascination with the ‘exotic’ East, and it seems that many in the creative world felt compelled to heighten this exoticism as much as possible,” says Dr Ardelan. “I believe that, with this understanding, we should make our own judgment about Western Orientalism.”
Visitors will not want to miss Palestinian British artist Mona Hatoum’s Hot Spot III (2009) featuring a large cage-like globe made from stainless steel and neon tubes that outlines the world’s continents with a powerful and vibrant red light. The work plays on the military term ‘hot spot’, used by news outlets to define active zones of war, contested borders and social unrest. Hatoum illuminates the entire globe in an alarming and hazardous red glare to suggest that conflict cannot be defined by certain areas but encompasses the entire world.
The works on show are rendered with poignant artistry and imbued with determination and perseverance against all odds. As Dr Ardelan notes: “It is important to acknowledge that Ganjavi’s Nasrin Nush was not a figure of resistance or survival; rather, she was an intelligent, poised and reserved person, like many of the artists in this exhibition whom we celebrate.” Turindot: To the Daughters of the East runs until 31 October at ACP–Palazzo Franchetti. Learn more
Originally published in the June 2026 issue of MOJEH Magazine. Subscribe here
