Traditional and contemporary art of Kazakhstan

The term ‘contemporary art’ refers to artistic practices characteristic of artists (or performance artists, actors, etc.) of our time. New artistic practices, which differ from previous forms of visual art in terms of their concept, media and forms of expression, emerged in the second half of the 20th century. The development of ideas and concepts for contemporary art projects is characterised by the fact that artists prioritise the absence of established canons in their works; the creative concepts they realise may serve as open provocation, shock, paradox or irony for viewers, who sometimes participate in the artists’ actions. Contemporary art develops within the framework of the ‘postmodern condition’ (J.-F. Lyotard), and its projects explore themes such as politics, economics, the media, gender and environmental issues.

When studying contemporary art, it is important to understand that in the 1990s, the term adopted by the art world at the start of the 21st century to describe the state of contemporary art was ‘current art’. Nowadays, ‘current art’ conveys a different meaning – the evaluative and substantive nature of a particular artistic endeavour. ‘Contemporary style’ is another term used in research on contemporary art.

Researchers trace the emergence of new creative practices in Kazakhstan to the second half of the 1980s, highlighting the activities of artists from Shymkent who came together to form the ‘Red Tractor’ group. The development of informal collectives and flat exhibitions in Almaty during the 1990s had a significant influence on new approaches to creative issues in artists’ practice.

The establishment of the Soros Centre for Contemporary Art–Almaty (SCCA-Almaty, Director V. Ibraeva), the only centre dedicated to the study and development of contemporary art in Central Asia, which operated from 1997 to 2010, helped to resolve many of the institutional challenges facing the country’s contemporary art scene. SCCA-Almaty organised competitive grants to provide technical assistance to art universities and artists; held a series of lectures on the history of contemporary art delivered by foreign art historians, as well as seminars and practical workshops for Kazakhstani art historians and artists; published analytical articles in anthologies, catalogues and books; and staged large-scale contemporary art projects, etc. At that time, many trends in the development of Kazakhstan’s art scene were already taking shape, such as: creative projects that reflected national identity and the nomadic history of the ethnic group, the decolonisation of knowledge; and public discussion of gender and environmental issues. Over the years since independence, the names of artists who have created art projects that have left a lasting impression not only on the domestic art-loving public – viewers, art historians, curators, etc. – but also on international specialists have become well-known in the history of the country’s contemporary art: R. Khalfine, E. and V. Vorobyovs, S. Maslov, K. Ibragimov, E. Meldibekov, M. Narymbetov, S. Atabekov, A. Menlibayeva, S. Suleimenova, Z. Sultanbayeva, A. Akmullaev, A. Ugai, B. Bubikanova, S. Dyusembina, K. Bazargaliev, Z. Falkova and others. Today, among young artists working in the digital sphere are media artists such as A. Musrepov, R. Abdrakhmanov, A. Batyr, M. Bazargalieva and others, creating interactive installations, video art and audiovisual performances, whilst utilising the possibilities of generative art and AI, as well as virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR).

Artists are drawn to the Art&Science movement, which combines artistic creation with the findings of scientific research, particularly in the field of bioethics (the annual PRO.NRG Fest: FLOW OF SCIENCE; the International Contemporary Art Fair at the Congress Centre; Astana).

Kazakh artists are invited by renowned curators to take part in international biennales of contemporary art and other exhibitions (the Istanbul Biennale, the Venice Biennale, ‘No Mad’s Land’, Berlin; ‘Trans Forma’, Geneva, and others). Art projects by Kazakhstani artists are exhibited in the world’s most renowned museums – the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York, the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MAss MoCA) and many others; and are acquired by MoMA, the Guggenheim Museum, the Museum of Fine Arts (MFA), the Reina Sofía Museum, the Centre Pompidou and other institutions.

The historical development of contemporary art in Kazakhstan is being studied by local art historians – V. Ibraeva, Y. Sorokina, Z. Yerzhan, N. Ezhenova, D. Sharipova, H. Truspekova, I. Yuferova, E. Malinovskaya, K. Li, E. Reznikova, M. Kalieva, D. Kozhakhmetov, M. Urazgalieva, A. Musrepo and others; philosophers – A. Nauryzbaeva, B. Nurzhanov, Zh. Baimukhamedov, K. Khalikov and others; foreign researchers – V. Miziano, A. Fomenko, P. Gamzatova, M. Tlostanova, A. Ulko, A. Krüger and others. Websites have been created featuring the works of artists held in the country’s largest museums (the A. Kasteev National Museum of Arts of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the National Museum of the Republic of Kazakhstan); galleries (‘Esentay’, ‘Aspan’ and others); and the ‘Tselinny’ Centre for Contemporary Culture (Almaty).