Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. If these countries have never been on your radar as players in the art world, that is set to change. These five post-Soviet republics, which form Central Asia, have been building their cultural infrastructure, aiming to gain attention on the global stage.

The opening of the Almaty Museum of Arts marks a transformative moment for Kazakhstan’s cultural landscape. Spearheaded by prominent Kazakh entrepreneur Nurlan Smagulov and led by artistic director Meruyert Kaliyeva, the museum responds to a long-standing need for a space that represents Kazakhstan’s vibrant art scene.

ASTANA – Kazakhstan presented its national pavilion at the 61st International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia on May 9 with the exhibition project “Qoñyr: Archive of Silence,” exploring themes of memory, silence, cultural continuity and the inner sound of history through contemporary art.

The year 2025 marked not only a busy period for contemporary art in Kazakhstan but also a decisive acceleration. Art moved beyond professional circles, claimed urban spaces, entered international agendas, and ceased to be a conversation “for insiders only.” The Kazakhstani art scene spoke with growing confidence both at home and abroad. New institutions, landmark exhibitions, festivals, and global collaborations signaled a pivotal shift: contemporary art has become a visible and integral component of the country’s cultural fabric.

The Kazakh collector—a patron and cultural adviser with a focus on Central Asian contemporary art—is a fan of Basel’s Museum Tinguely and single-artist stand presentations.

“AN ARTWORK is not created when an artist finishes it,” insists Almaty, Kazakhstan–based critic and curator Yuliya Sorokina. “It is created when it’s visible to an audience and when it becomes discourse. If there’s no ecosystem, nothing works.”

Like dervishes, dancers turned in circles in their white and rainbow kimonos in the hall of the Almaty Museum of Arts during a performance by Greek artist Nefeli Papadimouli. They were creating space amongst the crowd that receded more and more towards the walls of the building. Two British businesspeople behind me continued to network while the sleeves of the dervishes missed them by just a few centimeters. It was the night of the museum’s opening, and, as surreal as it was, these two people’s intense chatting about investments and deals, as if nothing was happening around them, is not surprising for Kazakhstan

Central Asia is a vibrant geographical area where many cultural identities and historical narratives intersect. On the one hand, there is a strong and lasting presence of nomadic heritage from the Saka tribes, which inhabited parts of Central Asia in about 170 BC. Then there is the enduring story of the Silk Road, which spans from the modern territory of Europe, through Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, and all the way to Far East China. This route became one of the first trading ecosystems that fostered the exchange of goods and ideas.

ASTANA – The Life is a Legend exhibition at the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MAMCS) in Strasbourg is bringing the work of contemporary Kazakh artists to an international audience. The exhibition, which opened on Dec. 5, is presented by the Eurasian Cultural Alliance and the Apollonia Association and will showcase artists largely unknown outside of Kazakhstan.

Kazakhstan's contemporary artists have been struggling over the last few years. Feminist art and activism in particular has come under heavy attack. But despite the challenges which lie ahead, the country's creatives are looking to the future: after all, it's in difficult times in which they feel needed most of all.

Bishkek's Feminnale kicked off a fight against the patriarchy. But with government censorship, the struggle is proving even more difficult than artists predicted.

The Lahore Biennale 02 (LB02) kicked off at Huzuri Bagh Lahore Fort on January 26, 2020 under the title "Between the Sun and the Moon" with some prominent painters from Kazakhstan namely Ms. Almagul Menlibayeva, Ms. Zitta Sultanbayeva, Ms. Saule Suleimenova, Mr. Syrlybek Bekbotayev and Mr. Roman Zakharov being part of it.

As Kazakhstan heads for its first presidential election without long-time leader Nursultan Nazarbayev, a group of creative youth activists has shattered the appearance of stability in the country with several actions demanding that freedom of political choice be ensured and the Constitution be respected.

While support for the activists is undoubtedly strong, their actions are not unique: the modern history of Kazakhstan has seen many remarkable protests that employed art and creativity to send a message, argue political activist Galym Ageleuov and art critic Zitta Sultanbayeva.

Voices on Central Asia, MAY 14, 2019

an unprecedented exhibition of Kazakhstan's most celebrated art collective, Kyzyl Tractor

This blog is about a very unusual family of a modern Kazakh artist, writer and journalist, Zitta Sultanbayeva, who is the soul and inspiration behind the creative works by ZITABL & AURA.

Zitta Sultanbayeva is an artist, poet, journalist and art critic; a very talented person who has the ability to process and respond to life's events in her own philosophical and imaginative way. I came across Zitta's work via Facebook. Zitta's posts caught my attention with her insightful excurses into Kazakhstan's art and culture.

Art can be a powerful means of interpreting situations. A workshop over five days in which professional artists assist lay participants to produce their own art. And in the course of doing so, they engage with pressing existential and social questions. They experience the self-empowerment of exhibition, they learn from each other's artistic journeys, they practice offering and receiving critical appreciation of ideas.

ASTANA – To counter what some believe to be an underrepresentation of Kazakh art internationally, the International Art Development Association (IADA) created an "Invisible Pavilion" entitled "Protagonists" on the sidelines of the May 1-10 Venice Biennale, where Kazakh and Central Asian artists were able to exhibit their work and their culture.

ASTANA – The creations of Kazakh artists are being presented abroad through the Focus Kazakhstan project, initiated to support working artists. The project sets up artist residences for eight young painters and photographers in countries around the world and follows them with parallel exhibitions.

The first artist residence for Kazakh artists launched in Berlin in June under the guidance of international curators. The project will run until Oct. 20, 2018, with residences in addition to Berlin in London, New York and Suwon, South Korea.

The Astana Times, 26 JULY 2018

ASTANA – Kazakh contemporary artist Suinbike Suleimenova presents a documentary about artist Lidia Blinova as a part of Focus Kazakhstan project that lasts Oct. 2018 – March 2019. For her, the film is an achievement of art activism that contributed to the revival of Kazakh contemporary art history and women artists' representation.