As Kazakhstan cautiously strengthens ties with western Europe, new art venues herald a change of direction

Two wealthy entrepreneurs are opening private art institutions in Kazakhstan this year as the country, which has long been under authoritarian rule, tries to strike a delicate balance between its proximity to Russia and deepening ties with Europe and China.

Both institutions are in Almaty, the country’s cultural and economic heart and its biggest city. The first, the Tselinny Center of Contemporary Culture, is due to open on 22 May in a repurposed Soviet-era cinema redesigned by the British architect Asif Khan. Its founder, Kairat Boranbayev, built his fortune through investments in oil and gas, real estate, retail and pharmaceuticals. He is a key figure in Kazakhstan’s sports sector, notably as chairman of FC Kairat, Almaty’s most successful football club.

Aiming to follow with a September opening is the Almaty Museum of Arts, a sprawling 10,000 sq. m building designed by the UK-based architectural firm Chapman Taylor. The founder, Nurlan Smagulov, established Astana Motors in 1992 and a decade later expanded into real estate with Mega Center Management, a developer of shopping malls.

Economic repositioning

While Russia is constrained by Western sanctions following its 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Kazakhstan has cautiously strengthened ties with western Europe to reduce dependence on its vast northern neighbour. It is emerging as an important energy supplier to Europe, and the British oil giant BP has expanded its presence in the country, historically dominated by Chevron, ExxonMobil and Russia’s Lukoil. In 2023, the UK and Kazakhstan signed agreements to enhance energy cooperation, including expanding green hydrogen production and improving supply-chain resilience.

Situated near the Trans-Ili Alatau mountain range and with Kyrgyzstan to its south, Almaty also serves as a vital logistical hub for China’s Belt and Road Initiative, stretching from Xi’an, China’s high-tech manufacturing centre, to Rotterdam in the Netherlands.

The government in Astana, the capital, has had to carefully navigate essential economic relations with Russia, which controls the “informational space”, according to Yevgeniy Zhovtis, the director of the Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights and Rule of Law. Kazakhstan ranked 142nd in the 2024 World Press Freedom Index, down from 134th previously.

“The independent media are very weak,” Zhovtis says. “Since 1998 therehas been no independent TV and radio, and we do not have any political opposition at all in the national department or in local legislatures.” The political regime is, he says, “very far from real democracy”.

Boranbayev was arrested on charges of embezzlement and money-laundering, and sentenced in March 2023 to eight years in prison. The sentence was later reduced on appeal, with Boranbayev released on probation after handing over a substantial part of his assets to the state, says Jama Nurkalieva, Tselinny’s director. “The situation has been fully resolved, and currently there are no implications for the museum and its funding,” she adds.

The Tselinny Centre, which previously functioned as a nomadic arts organisation, will now be housed in what used to be a cinema that showed social realist films in the Soviet era. It was slated for demolition but saved, Nurkalieva says. “We fought hard to preserve it, openly involving activists, neighbours and journalists. Rather than presenting an idealised image, we revealed a ruined space and created something meaningful.”

The name Tselinny references the Russian word “tselina”, meaning undeveloped yet fertile land, and alludes to Kazakhstan’s evolving artistic practices and the Soviet appropriation of nomadic land. “The name symbolically reclaims history,” says Khan, the architect. “When you step onto this ground, you’re invited into a new state of mind—virgin territory for a new cultural identity.”

Launch programmes

Contemporary Kazakh artists including Almagul Menlibayeva and Saule Suleimenova have won international acclaim for works addressing colonial history, environmental issues arising from Kazakhstan’s energy industry, and multicultural identities. The Tselinny Centre’s opening programme, titled Barsakelmes, features concerts, performances and discussions on nomadic traditions, ecological themes and local mythology.

“For all exhibitions or performances, anywhere in the state, you have to get either permission or notification,” Zhovtis says. Nurkalieva, though, is confident Tselinny can negotiate such restrictions. “Our purpose is to stimulate debate—not to validate or judge ideas but to question, fostering critical thought and continual reflection on being human,” she says. “We’re poetic, flexible and inventive.”

The Almaty Museum of Arts will be central Asia’s first private museum dedicated exclusively to regional Modern and contemporary art. It will exhibit Smagulov’s collection of more than 700 works, featuring Kazakh and central Asian artists alongside international figures such as Richard Serra, Bill Viola, Alicja Kwade and Yinka Shonibare.

“This museum bridges central Asia’s art with global cultural scenes, offering universally resonant contemporary experiences while highlighting our region’s distinctive voices,” Smagulov says.

Meruyert Kaliyeva, the museum’s artistic director, describes it as a cultural nexus. “Our exhibitions, public programmes and publications trace Kazakhstan’s artistic evolution—shaped by nomadic heritage, Soviet history and rapid post-independence change. Global influence represents an opportunity for dialogue and deeper context.”

Kaliyeva points to historical and contemporary exchanges in the planned inaugural exhibitions, including Almagul Menlibayeva’s solo retrospective and the group show Qonaqtar (Guests), which explores migration and identity.

“Migration profoundly shaped Kazakhstan’s 20th-century history,” explains Inga Lāce, the museum’s chief curator. “Qonaqtar highlights artists’ definitions of national identity across modern eras, reflecting nomadic traditions and forced Soviet-era displacement.”

Almaty sits at a geographic and symbolic crossroads, balancing economic aspirations, strategic alliances and domestic control. As these institutions open, their readiness to challenge or conform to established norms will speak volumes about Kazakhstan’s future.

Nurkalieva is optimistic. “Everything we do comes from our free spirit and understanding,” she says. “This is about enlarging intellectual communities.”

The Tselinny’s virgin soil for the imagination

Once a Modernist landmark that attracted two million visitors annually, the neglected 1960s-built cinema that would become the Tselinny Center had been adapted over the decades almost beyond recognition by the time British architect Asif Khan became involved. “It wasn’t the Tselinny people remembered any more,” he says. “The building no longer met seismic safety codes, and people saw it as part of a past era, irrelevant to the city’s future.”

After its imminent demolition was averted, Khan excavated its identity. “I wanted to untether the building from its most recent history and allow it to connect beyond the Soviet era—to something deeper in the past but also to the future.” His design emphasises openness and connection. The entire ground floor inside and out is a single level, so people can move seamlessly between the landscape, the foyer and the exhibition halls. “The ground becomes symbolic—a virgin land for imagination.”

The façade was also transformed to incorporate a “cloud structure” that invites curiosity. “To enter, you walk through this cloud—it’s a process of stepping into a new world.” This shift replaces the building’s rigid Soviet frame with “lightness, openness and possibility”.

Peak panorama

Designed by the UK-based architecture firm Chapman Taylor, the Almaty Museum of Arts has been developed as both a cultural venue and a public space integrated into Almaty’s urban landscape.

The design prioritises adaptability, with exhibition spaces that can be reconfigured for different artistic media. Expansive glazing and skylights allow natural light to illuminate the galleries, and the surrounding snow-capped mountains are almost constantly visible.

The layout encourages visitor movement, with open-plan galleries connected by transitional spaces that provide varied perspectives on the art. Landscaped public areas surrounding the building extend its function beyond exhibition halls, reinforcing its role as a cultural venue accessible to a wide audience.

Chapman Taylor’s approach incorporates references to Kazakhstan’s architectural heritage with a contemporary aesthetic. The museum’s educational and public programming spaces include auditoriums and multipurpose rooms for lectures, workshops and discussions. “Chapman Taylor has created a space that is both functional and flexible, allowing for a variety of artistic and cultural engagements,” says Meruyert Kaliyeva, the museum’s artistic director.