Traditional and contemporary art of Kazakhstan
A Virtual Journey into the World of Kazakhstan’s Artistic Heritage
This Web Gallery presents the diversity of artistic practices in Kazakhstan, reflecting the continuity of cultural traditions and the dynamic development of contemporary creative processes. The virtual exhibition features works based on national images, symbols, and themes, as well as artworks by contemporary artists who reinterpret the country’s cultural heritage through contemporary artistic forms, expressive means, and modern technologies.
The selected works demonstrate the relationship between traditional and contemporary art, revealing the distinctive features of the national worldview, cultural identity, and cultural meanings. The presented materials allow viewers to trace how elements of historical and cultural heritage are reflected in contemporary artistic practice, while maintaining their significance and relevance in an increasingly globalized world.
The Web Gallery is aimed at promoting Kazakhstan’s artistic heritage, expanding public access to works of art, and fostering a lasting interest in national culture and art among a wide audience.
Recommended reading
Ayazbekova, U. Hudojestvennaia obrabotka dereva u kazahov. [Artistic woodworking among the Kazakhs]. Nomad-Kazakhstan, No. 2 (32) 2010. (Rus)
Janibekov, U.D. Kültura kazahskogo remesla. [The Culture of Kazakh Crafts]. Almaty: Oner, 1982. – 144 p. (Rus)
Kazahskaia iurta. Nasionälnyi obraz mira. [Kazakh yurt. National image of the world] // author of the introductory article Bakhyt (Gafu) Kairbekov. Almaty: Didar, 1998. – 80 p. (Rus)Kazahskie muzykälnye instrumenty [Kazakh musical instruments] // author of the introductory article: Asiya Mukhambetova. Almaty: Didar, 1998. – 80 p. (Rus)Klodt E.A. Kazahski narodnyi ornament. [Kazakh folk ornament]. Moscow: Art, 1939. (Rus)
Kogan E.R. Derevo (terek)» v kartine mira kazahskogo naroda. [The concept of ‘Tree (terek)’ in the worldview of the Kazakh people]. URL: pps.kaznu.kz (Rus)
L'vova E.JI., Oktyabrskaya I.V., Sagalasv A.M., Usmanova M.S. Tradisionnoe mirovozzrenie türkov İujnoi Sibiri. Prostranstvo i vremä. Veşnyi mir. [The traditional worldview of the Turks of Southern Siberia. Space and time. The material world]. Novosibirsk: Nauka. Sib. branch, 1988. – 225 p. (Rus)
Margulan A.Kh. Kazahskoe narodnoe prikladnoe iskustvo. [Kazakh folk applied art]. Volume 1. Alma-Ata, Oner, 1986. – 256 p. (Rus)
Moldagali Beimbet. “İa sobiraiu veşi, kotorye ispölzovali v kochevom bytu». Kak hudojnik işet starinnye veşi po vsemu svetu. Fotografii Karimovoi J.” [‘I collect things that were used in nomadic life.’ How an artist searches for antique items around the world. Photographs by Karimova Zh.] URL: https://vlast.kz/life/59046-a-sobirau-vesi-kotorye-ispolzovalis-v-kocevom-bytu.html (Rus)
Masanov E. İz istorii remesla kazahov (Vtoraia polovina XIX – nachalo XX v.) [From the History of Kazakh Crafts (Second Half of the 19th – Early 20th Centuries)] // Soviet Ethnography, 1958, No. 5, pp. 31–49. (Rus)
Mukanov M.S. Kazahskaia iurta. [The Kazakh Yurt]. Alma-Ata: Kainar, 1981. – 224 pp. (Rus)
Naurzbayeva Z.Zh. Simvolizm Velikoi Materi Saba i sväzannye s nei obrädy. [The symbolism of the Great Mother Saba and related rituals]. URL: http://crafts.kz/assets/557 (Rus)
Novaia jizn drevnih tradisi. [New Life of Ancient Traditions]. Illustrated Album. Almaty, 2010. – 294 pp. (Rus)
Samashev Z. Berel. Almaty: Taymas, 2011. – 236 pp. (Rus)
Tokhtabaeva, Sh.Z. Simvolika predmetov tradisionnogo byta kazahov [Symbolism of traditional Kazakh household items] // Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Kazakhstan. No. 1. 2014. – pp. 23–28. (Rus)
Tokhtabaeva, Sh.Z. Hudojestvennaia obrabotka dereva i kosti u kazahov 19–20 vv.: Uchebnoe posobie dlä studentov vysşih uchebnyh zavedeni. [Artistic processing of wood and bone among the Kazakhs in the 19th–20th centuries: A textbook for students of higher educational institutions]. Almaty: Palitra Press LLP, 2020. – 122 pp. (Rus)
Tulbasieva L. Mebel kazahov kochevnikov [Furniture of Kazakh nomads] // Soviet Decorative Art. Issue 8, 1986. pp. 226–233. (Rus)
Kültura i byt kazahov. Älbom risunkov V.N. Plotnikova 1859–1866 godov. İz sobrania Rosiskogo etnograficheskogo muzeia [Culture and Life of the Kazakhs. Album of drawings by V.N. Plotnikov, 1859–1866. From the collection of the Russian Ethnographic Museum] // edited by K. Uskenbay. Almaty, Abdi Company, 2021. – 254 p. (Rus)
Shaygozova Zh.N., Naurzbayeva A.B. Kratkaia ensiklopedia znakov i simvolov kazahskoi kültury. [Concise encyclopaedia of signs and symbols of Kazakh culture]. Almaty: KazRIC, 2023. – 320 p. (Rus)
Shaygozova Zh.N., Kulsarieva S.P. Atlas «Remesla sovremennogo Kazahstana». [Atlas ‘Crafts of modern Kazakhstan’]. – Almaty: KazNIIK, 2023. – 116 p. (Rus)
Shakhanova N. Mir tradisionnoi kültury kazahov. [The World of Traditional Kazakh Culture]. Almaty: Kazakhstan, 1998. –184 p. (Rus)
Shakhanova N. Tradisii kazahskogo dastarhana. [Traditions of Kazakh Dastarkhan]. 24 May 2018. URL: https://nomadmgz.kz/index.php/heritage/223-drevnie-traditsii-kazakhskogo-dastarkhana (Rus)
Shklyaeva S., Muratayev K. İstoria iskustv Kazahstana. [History of the Arts of Kazakhstan]. Almaty: Oner, 2011. Vol. 1. – 192 p. (Rus)
Nurlanova К. “SYMBOL OF THE WORLD IN THE TRADITIONAL ART OF KAZAKHS” (Central Asian Journal of Art Studies, т. 2, № 3, 2017. С.19–33. (Eng)