Imagining A City: Moving Image, Architecture and the Urban Memory of Dushanbe
Anisa Sabiri and Oyat Shukurov, 29 October 2026 14:00 GMT at the Royal Astronomical Society
From our anniversary series – Central Asia 35
*Image above – Zero Sum, Anisa Sabiri, 2026
Memory is not a fixed image, but a space closely connected to the imagination. Exploring mnemonic space invites us to consider the tools best suited to understanding how memory is formed and experienced, from the spatial and temporal qualities of places to the tactile elements that shape our recollections.
In this talk, researcher and filmmaker Anisa Sabiri and artist and architect Oyat Shukurov will discuss their ongoing collaborative practice across moving image and architecture. Drawing on the urban memory of Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan, they will share the research behind their work and explore how film and architecture can reveal the ways memory is embedded in cities.
Anisa Sabiri is a London-based Tajik filmmaker, writer and researcher. Her work is centred on the themes of memory and time, through the lens of Persianate epistemologies. Her short films have been presented internationally including at the Locarno Film Festival, Busan International Film Festival, Venice Biennale, Dokumenta 15, Klassiki and Asian Film Archive. She has spoken and gavin workshops at the UCL, Queen Mary University of London, Klassiki, Royal Society of Asian Affairs, Berlinale, Documentary Association of Europe, Richmond American University, Sheffield Doc Fest, UNESCO. She is currently a senior lecturer at the University of Central Asia in Kyrgyzstan.
Anisa is the recipient of the Arts Council England DYCP Award, and the Outstanding Screenwriting Award from Final Draft. She holds a Screenwriting MA from the London Film School, fully funded by the Chevening Scholarship.
*Anisa’s profile image was taken by Karen Joaquín.
Oyat Shukurov is a London-based architectural practitioner, artist and writer. His interdisciplinary work moves between architectural design and visual arts, with a focus on atmosphere, memory and the relationship between representation and construction. His work has been exhibited at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, and he is the winner of the Central Glass International Architectural Design Competition 2025 and Nisshin Kogyo Competition 2017 (both in Japan). He previously taught at Moscow School of Architecture and the British Higher School of Art and Design in Moscow, and has delivered lectures at the AA School of Architecture, London Metropolitan, Oxford Brookes, and the University of Central Asia.
His work has been featured in Shinkenchiku and A+U, as well as on ArchDaily, Dezeen and the Future Architecture platform. A forthcoming publication ‘Reading Against the Grain: Identity through the Arts and Culture in Post-Colonial Central Asia’ (2026–27) will include a chapter by him on the architecture of Dushanbe.
*Oyat’s profile image was taken by Anastasia Belinskaya.
Anisa spoke to the Society about the tradition of storytelling in Tajikistan in June 2024. You can find the recording below.
