A New Silk Road is the title of a new film created for show at the Art Institute of Chicago by artists Gulnara Kasmalieva and Muratbek Djumaliev. Unfortunately the exhibition is now finished, but it is definitely one to watch out for. The Art Institute of Chicago gives the following description of the film:

The project follows the extensive scrap-metal trade via truck caravans traveling through the high mountain passes between Kyrgyzstan and China. With almost no manufacturing infrastructure and limited funding for building and growth, Kyrgyzstan’s role remains that of trader, the middle man between China’s booming production and countries such as Russia and Kazakhstan that are in the economic position to support the vigorous importation of consumer goods. Eschewing nostalgia for the historical Silk Road era, Kasmalieva and Djumaliev instead foreground the current, arguably hard, existences faced by the communities along these well-worn trade routes.

I hadn’t known about the exhibition beforehand, so to wander round a corner and find views of Kyrgyzstan all around me was wonderful. It was also great to see something that is not simply a romanticised version of life in Kyrgyzstan today. Keep an eye out for it.