Intizor Otaniyazova was born in 1995 in Uzbekistan and moved to Kazakhstan as a child. Her father is of Khorezmian origin, an ethnicity that was largely absorbed into Uzbek identity during Soviet policy, while her mother is Uyghur and was forced to flee her homeland at a young age due to the persecution of her people in the occupied territories of East Turkestan. Identity is one of the central themes in Otaniyazova’s work, which she approaches both with ironic distance and with deep seriousness. Her ongoing project, the hybrid documentary film Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Side Chicks, explores the intersection of personal histories and nation-building projects related to identity in Central Asia.
In addition, Otaniyazova examines the ecologies of feminism and Beyoncé through video, installation, and writing. She has participated in exhibitions and residencies worldwide, presenting work across video, text, objects, and performance, including Women Speak: Art Against Injustice in Almaty; Don’t Miss the Cue at the Venice Biennale; I Inherit What You Lost in Szczecin and Prague; Chilltan at documenta 15; and Air Conditioner Not Working in Bishkek.

Parvazim
Soundwalk (2026)
For the Rites of Eternal Wind, Intizor Otaniyazova has composed a soundwalk in which she reflects on the historical homeland of the Uyghurs — one that, due to the course of history, can exist only as memory: both intimate and distant at once.Almaty and its surrounding areas are home to the largest Uyghur diaspora in the world. This presence reveals itself in fragments — in food, in songs heard in taxis, in architecture, in accents, etc. There are so many problems in the world, and far fewer solutions. Intizor invites us to step outside, put on our headphones, and begin to fly.
The Seeker says:
“If we dive deep enough into the endless process of separating one thing from another, what will we see? Scientists say we are all stardust. But I say: I am you, and you are me”