Exhibition "Hello, Tashkent!" An Artist's View by Yulia Drobova

This is a book where the city comes to life through the vivid and delicate illustrations of Yuliya Drobova — an artist whose works are cherished both in Europe and at home, and have even been featured in renowned publications such as Wired, Süddeutsche Zeitung, and Illustoria. Here, you’ll see the originals of her illustrations, get a peek into her personal sketchbooks, and learn how books are created.

Yuliya was born in Tashkent, where she grew up among sunny streets, mahallas, and gardens. She graduated from the Tashkent Institute of Architecture and Construction, then moved to Berlin, where she became a renowned illustrator and teacher. Her works were shortlisted four times in a row at the prestigious Bologna Children’s Book Fair. Yuliya comes from a family that is part of the city’s history: her great-grandfather Vasily Drobov was a professor of botany, a man who loved and studied the flora of Tashkent and the region. Her other great-grandfather, Max Penson, was a legendary photographer who captured the life and history of the republic—his photographs are now carefully preserved in museums around the world.

"Hello, Tashkent!" — a personal story about the city of my childhood. I wanted to show the children exactly this Tashkent — kind, lively, and open to everyone.

Illustrator: Yuliya Drobova
Text: Ivan Sorokin