Saodat Ismailova has exhibited at numerous major institutions including JOAN, Los Angeles (2024); Eye Filmmuseum, Amsterdam, Le Fresnoy – Studio national des arts contemporains in collaboration with Centre Pompidou, Paris (2023); Center for Contemporary Arts, Tashkent (2019); Ilkhom Theatre, Tashkent (2018); Tromsø Kunstforening, Tromso, Norway (2017).Her films and video installations have also been presented in international group exhibitions such as Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale, Fondazione in Between Art and Film, Venice (2024), Shanghai Biennale of Art, Sharjah Biennial (2023); Venice Biennale, documenta 15, Kassel, (2022); Meet Factory, Prague (2021); Para Site, Hong Kong, Rockbund Art Museum, Shanghai (2019); Lunds konsthall (2018); Yinchuan Biennale (2018).

In 2013 Ismailova was one of the artists representing Central Asia at the Venice Biennale, while in 2018 her live musical performance Qyrq Qyz premiered at Brooklyn Academy of Music, New York. Her work is also widely recognized in the film industry and has been featured in festivals such as the Berlinale International Film Festival (2014) and Rotterdam International Film Festival (2005), among others. She has received numerous awards, including Eye Art & Film Prize, Amsterdam (2022); Documenta Madrid (2018), Golden Alhambra Award, Granada Cines del Sur Film Festival (2014), Tashkent International Biennale of Contemporary Art (2014), and Turin International Film Festival for Best Documentary (2004). In 2021, she founded the research group Davra, dedicated to the study, documentation and dissemination of Central Asian culture and knowledge