Samarkand hosted an international floral design workshop \"ancient Samarkand - turquoise garden of inspiration\". It was organized by the Association of Florists of Uzbekistan with support from fund forum.



The project of such level, which was aimed at attracting attention of foreign and local florists to Samarkand, was held for the first time in Central Asia. Famous award-winning floral designers Annette von Einem of Denmark and Sergey Karpunin of Russia taught floral arranging techniques and design skills at the workshop.

The workshop was attended by eleven floral designers from Uzbekistan and eight from Russia. Prior to the work¬shop, in what apparently was a quest for inspiration for floral designs the participants went on a tour of Samarkand, where they visited architectural landmarks such as Guri Emir Mau¬soleum, Shakhi Zinda architectural complex, Bibi-Khanym Mosque, the Registan Square, Ulugbek Madrasa, the Ulug-bek Observatory and the world-famous Siab bazaar among other medieval sites.

Following the tour of Samarkand the floral design¬ers busied themselves creating beautiful masterpieces that have shown that the ancient Uzbek city packed with medieval architectural gems featuring intricate patterns as well as mosques and mausoleums crowned by azure domes have been a great source of inspiration and lasting impressions for the masters.

The rich assortment of flowers and shapes, once in the hands of the florists, transformed into works of art, origi¬nal structures, exquisite bouquets and one-of-a-kind deco¬rations. In creating their masterpieces the designers relied not only on the flowers but also their stems - which the}\' wove into patterns, stars and other shapes - as well as leaves, colorful feathers and other items.

The intensive workshop days concluded with a spec¬tacular night show along with an exhibition of works by the participants in Ulugbek Madrasah located in Registan Square, the heart of Samarkand. In all, the show presented 19 floral exhibits and 49 bouquets and decorations that were demonstrated by models wearing national dresses, with the floral necklaces and accessories blending perfectly with the national outfits.

Attended by a host of up-and-coming artists and design¬ers, famous culture and art professionals, journalists and in¬ternational visitors, the show included an awards ceremony for the participants.

According to the workshop organizers, events of this kind are held in countries like Germany, Switzerland, Den¬mark and Japan, where floral design is a trendy activity. Thanks to support from Fund Forum, it\'s in the cards that Uzbekistan will join the ranks of \'floral design countries\'.

\"I think that without Fund Forum this project wouldn\'t be as big as it is now,\" says Ruben Saakyan, the chairman of the Association of Floral Designers of Uzbekistan. \"Fund Forum has been instrumental in making sure the workshop is held at such a high level and has been given a high profile. And the participants have expressed sincere thanks for the well-organized workshop.\" Source: Newspaper «Uzbekistan travel news» - «Íîâîñòè òóðèçìà Óçáåêèñòàíà»