Introduction

This is a collection of Uyghur and Kazakh artwork created both for the purpose of cultural preservation and as a format of protest and resistance.

沉默的绿洲 三

Chronicles Turkistan

This series of comic strips about life in contemporary Xinjiang is created by an artist who goes by Oozgur, often in collaboration with the individuals whose experiences inform the stories. Some strips follow ordinary Uyghurs and Kazakhs as they experience everyday acts of discrimination and mourn the disappearance of their culture, while others feature surreal dramatizations of fears and anxieties generated by developments in the region.

Camp Album Project

The Camp Album Project is a series created by Yi Xiaocuo (pseudonym) grew up as a member of an ethnic minority in China’s Xinjiang and is now in North America. Witnessing many friends and colleagues from Xinjiang who are fighting anxiety and depression alone, Yi Xiaocuo launched the project to document people’s lived experiences of suffering from family separation, guilt, and fear dealing with the Chinese state’s atrocities in their traditional ancestral homeland.

Lisa Ross

Lisa Ross’ photo collective documents her experiences travelling in Xinjiang and the cultural nuances of the Uyghur people. Additionally, her podcast on HyperAllergic also discusses her experience travelling in the region.

Asman Collective

The Asman Collective formed as an action group in order to preserve Uyghur memory and identity following Chinese policies to wipe out its culture. Consisting of filmmakers, artists, and photographers, the immediate goal of the project is to honour the customs that have been criminalized by the Chinese regime as well as record and retell stories from Uyghur society.