Why it belongs in ORBIS
Tashkent embroidery studio founded 2006 by Madina Kasimbaeva, a suzani master reviving the Tashkent school's yurma and bosma needle techniques; her work is held in the British Museum's permanent collection. By appointment.
Madina Kasimbaeva, born in Tashkent in 1981, learned embroidery from her grandmother as a child and founded the Suzani by Kasimbaeva studio in 2006. She is recognized as the primary living reviver of the Tashkent school of suzani embroidery, using techniques including 'yurma' crochet-needle embroidery and 'bosma' stitching. In 2016 she won Uzbekistan's Best Craftsperson prize, and she is the only Uzbek designer whose work sits in the British Museum's permanent collection. Over roughly 25 years she has trained around 500 students. The studio produces suzani textiles, garments, accessories and home-decor pieces, working by appointment.