The Pearl of the Silk Road
Uzbek Living Heritage
October 12–16, 2026 · Open daily, 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM · Palm Beach County Convention Center, Meeting Room 1DE, West Palm Beach, Florida
Free admission. Open to the public.
Opens Monday, October 12 at 10:00 AM
Visit
When
Monday–Friday, October 12–16, 2026. 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM each day. Opening ceremony Monday at 10:00 AM.
Where
Meeting Room 1DE, Palm Beach County Convention Center, 650 Okeechobee Blvd, West Palm Beach, FL 33401
Admission
Free and open to the public. No ticket needed. Planning a group or school visit? Email us ahead.
Heritage you can watch being made
Master artisans travel from Uzbekistan's Fergana Valley to show their work and their methods. Each day includes live demonstrations, so you can watch how these pieces are made and talk with the people who make them. Following the 2024 exhibition of Rishtan ceramics at the Embassy of the Republic of Uzbekistan in Washington, D.C., their work now comes to Palm Beach County.
Daily schedule
Five days of demonstrations, short talks and hands-on sessions — drop in at any time, or plan your visit around a particular craft.
Ceramics — Rishtan
Rishtan has been a town of potters for centuries. Its masters shape local clay, paint each piece by hand and finish it in ishkor, the deep blue alkaline glaze the town is known for. Skills pass from master to apprentice, often within one family.
Live demonstrations daily.
Silk — Margilan
Margilan is the silk center of the Fergana Valley. Its weavers practice abr, known abroad as ikat: threads are tied and dyed in sections before weaving, which gives the patterns their soft, feathered edges. No two lengths of cloth come out exactly alike.
Live demonstrations daily.
Woodcarving — Kokand
Kokand carvers work mainly in walnut, carefully dried before it is cut. Using hand tools, they carve fine geometric and floral patterns into book stands, boxes, chess sets and decorative plates.
Live demonstrations daily.
Brought from Uzbekistan
A selection of the works traveling to West Palm Beach: plates and vessels from Rishtan, ikat silk from Margilan, and the raw materials of the craft. Select any photo to view it larger.
Meet the masters
Master potters, weavers and carvers from Rishtan, Margilan and Kokand will demonstrate their techniques throughout the week. Names and profiles will be added here soon.
Opening ceremony
Monday, October 12, 2026, at 10:00 AM
Join us for welcome remarks, the ribbon cutting and the first live demonstrations of the week. The exhibition stays open to the public until 6:00 PM.
Please let us know you're coming so we can plan seating.
RSVP for the openingRegistration runs through the official form, which opens in a new tab: open the registration form.
Official representative of Fergana Region in the United States
Getting here
Meeting Room 1DEPalm Beach County Convention Center
650 Okeechobee Blvd, West Palm Beach, FL 33401
