Nukus Museum of Art

It’s a beautiful art museum, probably the best one in Uzbekistan. My favorite pieces were the oil paintings that reflects the lifestyles of the people that lived around in the past. You can feel the atmosphere of the paintings, and learn a lot about the cultural aspects of Central Asia, Karakalpakstan and Soviet Russia. Definitely recommend visiting here. It is called the “Louvre of Uzbekistan” for a reason :)

A very interesting museum that included not just paintings, but also photos, sculptures, and clothing. It’s definitely worth a visit to see the different styles of art from the different artists!

We did a tour on our self and we loved it! However, you may get your guides in English, Russian, German, French, ….. There are a lot of guards but it’s just to get some jobs to some people.
The art is unique and you won’t see it elsewhere. Therefore it’s a must once in Nukus.

So worth the visit, seeing artists responses to places, politics and what goes on in the world always gives a bigger picture. For example how life was before the Aral Sea dried up

Interesting experience visiting this museum and the guide is very professional, a real artist to capture your attention

Definitely worth a visit! There is a wide collections of paintings about Uzbekistan and even further field. There is also a collection of traditional clothes and jewelry. We took an English guide, the tour was rather rushed and you can instead tour by yourself!

I spent 4 hours in this art museum. I rarely spend more than an hour in any museum. The story behind this place and the art collection itself make it worth flying to Nukus (or taking the train as I did).

Igor Vitalyevich Savitsky was a Ukrainian-born painter, archeologist and collector, especially of avant-garde art. He single-handedly founded this museum with art he had collected from across the USSR. The collector saved an unprecedented amount of Soviet Art from being destroyed by the communist government. This period saw the blooming of the Russian Avant-Garde along with a myriad of other experimental movements such as Constructivism, Cubism and Futurism – movements that were born out of thriving cultural exchanges between Paris and Moscow.

The best museum in Uzbekistan. The lighting and display of the art pieces are much better than other museums that I have visited in Tashkent. Entrance fee is about 50000 som, it worths the price. There are two buildings in the compound, one is closed. The other one is where these paintings are displayed. Ground floor is the ticket office, souvenir shop and bag deposition counter. First floor is where the work of local artists were displayed, interesting works that show the local context. Second floor is where the soviet avant garde artwork are displayed. If you could get a guide it will be good to give u the introduction of the founder of the museum, and the message behind some paintings and why they were banned by soviet unions. Can spend about 2-3hours.

Our maiden visit to the famed "forbidden" Savitsky Museum of Art in the Nukus desert was meant to be the ultimate highlight of our first visit to beautiful Uzbekistan.  Miss E., recommended by the Uzbekistan Tourism Ambassador UK and pre-arranged by direct emails with the Museum, turned out to be the perfect guide to help us achieve that. Her depth of knowledge about the Museum's exhibits, both permanent and temporary ones, and its history was astounding. She made our visit so much more enjoyable because of her stories behind the pieces, the artists and also the founder, Igor Savitsky.  We felt very fortunate indeed to have experienced the Museum with our guide who, we later learnt, is one of the Museum's heads of department - voilà! Rahmat!
We were also lucky to be tipped off before visiting Nukus that many pieces of the Savitsky Museum collection are currently temporarily exhibited at Tashkent's Art Gallery of Uzbekistan so we managed to have a nice prelude to this visit while in the capital.
Only the newer second building is currently in operation and thus only 1% of the Museum's vast collection is on display. The first building will be renovated from about end-2022 for at least a year. Because most of the Museum's displays do not have QR codes offering information/commentary, unless you are an art expert, it pays to engage one of the Museum's English-language guides, preferably in advance.
Savitsky Museum is a #MustVisit for art lovers, not just for its unique history and collection, but also for the fact that Igor Savitsky was so visionary in his curatorial pursuits that, for avant-garde artists like Volkov, Mumin, Kurzin, Poret et al, the Museum's collection is possibly any curator's "impossible"-dream. See it for yourself!

One of my favotite museums, places in Uzbekistan. It's a pity now they keep closed the old building and only show the new building stuff. But upon special paid request in advance they show you even the fond of the museum. Nice place for modern art that was prohibited in USSR.

Amazing museum in Nukus loved it a lot

The collection of so called Russian avangard is unbelievable there! It is so good that it worth to visit this city for a day.

Really unique, world-class art with an amazing backstory. My only regret is the second building is closed for renovation. If you love great art and the stories behind the artists and works, there is nothing else like this in the world. If you love adventure, this museum should be on your list.

What a gem of an art gallery! If you're into art, it's worth making the trip to Nukus for this.
Small gift shop, small selection of bottled drinks for sale (you can't take them into the galleries).
Closed Mondays.
Entrance 50,000. No fee for mobile phone cameras.

The most iconic Historical heritage of Karakalpakstan

Always love the presented art in the museum of Savitskiy... It's my 3rd visit and I wish I could see more of its treasures...

Really good museum. A must see if you stop in Nukus on your way to the Aral Sea or if you stay here.

We had a guided tour with Ahmad that is an highly recommended guide!

definitely worth the visit in Nukus
(tickets are around 80,000 soms)

Very interesting exhibitions. I also recommend using a guide. Our guide gave us very interesting information on the life and art of Savitskiy and other painters of that epoch.

Fantastic gallery in the middle of nowhere. Worth the effort of the journey.