SAVE ILKHOM

The Ilkhom Theater of Mark Weil is one of the first independent professional theaters in the USSR. Over 45 years, the theater has existed under different political regimes and has raised the most pressing topics of the public. For this reason, The Ilkhom Theater was threatened with closure multiple times. The performances of The Ilkhom Theater have been presented at more than 43 international festivals in 25 countries of the world. Today, Ilkhom is more than a theater. It is a symbol of the new era and a significant change in the minds of people.The center of contemporary art for the entire Central Asian region. The Initiator of various projects, such as the Laboratory of inclusive theater aimed at socialization of people with disabilities.

In early 2020, the theater was threatened with eviction at the request of the building's new owners. Ilkhom has no subsidies from the state, so the impending eviction meant closing the theater. This news shook Uzbekistan's cultural community.
While many felt sympathy, for the most part they were not able to come together to express their views openly. Historically, Central Asians are not inclined to protest.
We are afraid to take the streets and to stand up for our rights. We are afraid to express our opinions or grievances openly. The theater needed to find a form of civic expression in which people would not be afraid to speak out.

So we found a neat solution: we created an interactive platform dedicated to saving the theater. This allowed us to consolidate people's voices in one place.
Saveilkhom.com — is an interactive map of the theater's history with an appeal to help it via voting. Everyone can decide the fate of the theater by leaving a vote to save it and sharing the publication on social media, or by "deleting" the theater forever.

This stirred up the public. People began to share their voices and opinions on social networks, drawing the attention of their foreign friends. In 7 days:
More than 5 thousand people voted for the preservation of the theater; More than half a million mentions in social networks; More than 80 publications in the local and international media. The total reach was more than 8 million people.

A week after the launch of the platform, the leaders of the country became interested in the fate of Ilkhom. They helped to resolve the issue with the building and to preserve the theater by leaving it in its original place. During the 45 years
of its existence, Ilkhom changed people's minds by freeing them. And even on the verge of its closure, the theater not only defended the right to exist, but helped
a large number of passive audiences to express their civic position.