Rapid development in Karakalpakstan is pushing the museum to adapt to an ever changing environment. The transitional period since independence and the adoption of the market economy have required the managerial staff of the museum to take steps which have no precedent ni museums of our country.

The restructuring process has left the basic principles of the museum’s activities relating to storage, conservation and restoration, and cataloguing of the collections virtually intact. The principal changes occurred in the area of technology. Efforts are being made to replace the old equipment and to establish climatic control systems. The museum is also planning to establish a computerized database of the collection.

The museum staff has added to their conservation experience over the past decade thanks to increased contacts with previously inaccessible specialists from abroad. At present, the museum is applying techniques of textile conservation used in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and the studio of Pierre Chevalier in Aubusson near Paris. No harmful substances were used in the museum conservation work.

In 2003, a joint project was launched with the international organization, Restorers without Frontiers. As a result, some fifty two artworks (on canvas and paper) of 1920-1930s from the museum stores were restored. An exhibition of the restored paintings will allow previously unseen masterpieces to be displayed to the public.

Thanks to the active work of the museum and its international popularity, funds were allocated from the state budget for the construction of a new building, the opening ceremony of which was attended in September 2003 by the President of the republic of Uzbekistan, Islam Karimov.

The area under fundamental review at present is the museum’s finances. The Museum, like all state organizations, used to be fully financed by the government. The museum enjoys all the rights and benefits provided by the museums in the Republic of Uzbekistan by governmental documents.

Having been granted legal status, we looked carefully at the experience of museums in Europe and USA and a number of measures were taken to strengthen our financial independence. As our state developed and new structures appeared such as non-governmental and non-profit making organizations, we decided to use more flexible possibilities of this public sector. Having found supporters, we established “Cultural Heritage” association under the museum. The implemented projects not only helped the museum but also many residents of Nukus city and even districts of Karakalpakstan. The museum has extended the range of its activities not only in the area of spirituality and enlightenment but also in gender development, and the revival and promotion of old forgotten handicrafts. Today Karakalpak embroidery and yurts have been introduced into fashion thanks mainly to the museum’s efforts. Unfortunately, at present, this activity is temporarily suspended.

It is recognized that the museum improves the welfare of the craftsmen, the service sector of Karakalpakstan and neighboring Khiva, not to mention travel agencies from Bukhara, Samarkand and even Tashkent. Year in, year out, more and more visitors from all over the world are interested in the museum.

The museum has attempted to introduce a Western model of selling membership through a “Friends of the Nukus Museum” society, which helps to maintain museum budgets very efficiently throughout the world. We are also introducing a system of bonuses for our patrons that includes invitations to events, the addition of their names to a special board of honor displayed at the entrance to the exhibition, discounts in the museum shop and, of course, free admission to the museum. A lot has been done and strategies are being developed to establish a museum industry.

However, some degree of misunderstanding of our new ventures has been observed. People continue to think that museums are institutions where people are engaged only to dust exhibits and that museums should exist appropriately charging for their services, a view often propagated among foreign residents of working in Uzbekistan. On a daily basis we are challenged to find ways to strengthen the dignity of museums and their staff in Uzbekistan.

As a regard to public relations, it should be noted that changes in ideology and the democratization of society, coupled with the transitional phase toward a market economy has necessitated a completely new principle of working with our audience.

Experience shows that the level of understanding of art of the presenters and the spectators can differ considerably. The museum is exploring new approaches. But the aim is not simply to cater to the lowest common denominator. The museum studies the opinion of its city residents, learns about the preferences of the public, and surveys people to find out what novelties they would like to see in our museum. All remarks and recommendations are taken into consideration, based on which new approaches for work with visitors are developed. A network of clubs operates under the museum to cover various categories (from schoolchildren to housewives) and interests (from embroidery to computer literacy). Regular activities and quiz sessions have been implemented for example, as well as fashion shows and contests for the best dish made from low-cost products. Some activities and charity projects have a social nature and aimed at supporting the low-income strata of the society.

Over the last decade the museum has come to be at the heart not only of the culture but also the active life of the republic. As visitors have noted, the Nukus Museum of Art is not a dead museum. Many politicians have paid tribute to the efforts of the museum to save and promote the variety of cultures presented in the collection of the Savitskiy State Museum of the Republic of Karakalpakstan. These include former vice-president of the USA Al Gore, President of France Jacques Chirac, the Prince of Wales, former state secretary M. Albright and many others.

The honor of presenting Uzbek culture at the conference “Culture and Diplomacy” in November 2000 at the White House fell to the director of the Nukus Museum. The experience of the Nukus Museum in saving a variety of cultures in a transient society in the era of globalization is of interest to the whole world.