In 2025, the Abylkhan Kasteev State Museum of Art of the Republic of Kazakhstan celebrates a significant event - 90 years since its foundation.

Today, the museum's collection includes more than 26,000 works of art, reflecting the entire palette of cultural and historical heritage of Kazakhstan. Here are collected works of painting, graphics and sculpture, among which are genuine masterpieces that have entered the golden fund of art of Kazakhstan.

A significant section presents decorative and applied art of Kazakhstan - the national source of spirituality and tradition, which came from antiquity and has been preserved up to our time.

For the 90th anniversary of the museum an extensive programme has been prepared, which will emphasise the rich history and versatility of its activities.

An important event will be the opening of a new hall ‘Modern Art of Kazakhstan’, which will present the works of the leading artists of the country.

The museum will also turn to its origins by presenting a retrospective photo exhibition. Unique archive documents and photos will be presented to the visitors. Special attention will be paid to scientific, fund, exhibition and excursion activities since 1935. Along with this, photos of numerous exhibition projects and large-scale events that take place to this day will be shown. This is a story about the history, formation and development of the museum and its collection from the origins to the present day.

Another exhibition will be dedicated to the artists-jubilarians who have entered the history of fine arts of Kazakhstan.

A significant part of the jubilee programme will be the publication of a two-volume catalogue ‘Modern Decorative and Applied Art of Kazakhstan’. The catalogue will cover items made of metal, ceramics, textiles and other materials created from 1938 to the 2020s.

The exhibition ‘Revived Masterpieces’ will present about 100 restored works, which will be accompanied by passports with a description of the restoration work done and photos of ‘before’ and ‘after’. The exhibition will be attended by restorers of the older generation, who have put a lot of effort and labour into making the numerous works exhibitable.

The jubilee year will be marked by a number of major international exhibitions that will strengthen Kazakhstan's cultural dialogue with the world.

The most important project of the year will be the travelling exhibition of works of Abylkhan Kasteev from the collection of the Museum in the State Tretyakov Gallery. It is planned to present unique works of graphics and watercolours of the master - the retrospective exposition of 50 works will reflect all stages of creative development of the artist and will present him to the Russian audience.

An international project to mark the 120th anniversary of Ural Tansykbayev, organised by the Foundation for the Development of Culture of Uzbekistan, will bring together the collections of leading museums in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.

The international exhibition of the National Museum of China will feature over 50 works: original Chinese painting, sculpture, composition, watercolour, gouache and lacquer painting.

The traditional event of the year will be ‘Kasteev Readings’ - an annual international scientific-practical conference uniting researchers of art and museum business.

 

Press service of the Ministry of Culture and Information of the Republic of Kazakhstan