Culture Archives - Voices On Cental Asia

The Gapar Aitiev Kyrgyz National Museum of Fine Arts has played a significant role in exploring and preserving the rich history of Kyrgyzstan’s applied and fine arts for nearly a…

View Post

7 min

Culture

Kazakh Graphic Illustrations of Evgeny Sidorkin

November 15, 2019

Evgeny Matveevich Sidorkin (1930-1982) is a Soviet graphic illustrator and artist who was recognized by several prestigious awards for his art. He mainly worked in Kazakhstan and created powerful images…

View Post

5 min

Culture

Crafts and Couture from Central Asia Festival

November 11, 2019

From October 10 to October 13, the George Washington University’s Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies hosted the “Crafts and Couture from Central Asia” festival. The festival was organized…

View Post

8 min

Culture

Kyrgyz Fashion: Combining Tradition and Innovation

October 2, 2019

An artisan must always be an innovator: choosing and experimenting with new materials, techniques, ornaments, and shapes—but a good artisan must cherish traditions as well.Kyrgyz craftsmen know how to make…

View Post

9 min

Culture

“Captain Ikat”: Textile Fantasies of Dilyara Kaipova

September 12, 2019

In the picture to the right, we see beautiful Central Asian fabrics with an abr (ikat) pattern that convey the mystical spirit of the Middle Ages, the atmosphere of the…

View Post

8 min

Culture

The Cruel Candor of Zhanna Isabaeva

August 26, 2019

Within a mere ten years, director Zhanna Isabaeva carved out a firm place for herself in modern Kazakhstani cinema. She has done so all on her own: neither the state…

View Post

9 min

Culture

Central Asian and Azerbaijani Contemporary Art Discussion at Asia House, UK

August 21, 2019

“Azerbaijani and Central Asian art have a lot to offer the world in terms of discovery,” – says Rose Issa, a renowned curator and writer who has helped to introduce Iranian…

View Post

14 min

Culture

Carpets in Uzbekistan: History and Traditions

July 16, 2019

Carpet-weaving is an amazing art with which mankind has been familiar for almost five millennia (the first known nap structures were found among the archaeological remains of ancient Sumer). Carpets…

View Post

8 min

Civil Protests, Art, and Politics in Kazakhstan

May 14, 2019

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…

View Post

28 min

Culture

FOUNDING FATHER. Shaken Aimanov: The Man at the Core of Kazakh Cinema

May 2, 2019

To most young Kazakhs, the films of Shaken Aimanov are unknown. Many have never even heard his name. Even Aimanov’s greatest hits – Our Dear Doctor (1957) and The End of…

View Post

9 min

Culture

The Democracy of Ikat and Suzani, or How Unique Looks are Created in Uzbekistan

April 24, 2019

Uzbekistan’s beautiful architecture fascinates tourists from around the world, but they can not take Gur-Emir with them when they leave. Yet they can fill their suitcases with smaller items: painted…

View Post

17 min

Culture

Olzhas Suleimenov on Eurasianism, Internationalism and the Forgotten Past

February 6, 2019

Olzhas Suleimenov is a poet, literary scholar, public figure, and diplomat. His contribution to the Kazakh culture is hard to overestimateAlongside his legendary book Az i Ya and his staggering poetry,…

View Post

12 min

Culture

Uzbek Dance Art: Past and Present – In the Wake of Tashkent Encounters

December 13, 2018

Author Rosa Vercoe Rosa Vercoe is a freelance blogger who has recently started her own blog. She was born in Turkmenistan (Mary) but grew up in Kazakhstan (Almaty). Rosa is…

The Ethnographic Collection of the Gapar Aitiev Kyrgyz National Museum of Fine Arts

Kazakh Graphic Illustrations of Evgeny Sidorkin

Crafts and Couture from Central Asia Festival

Kyrgyz Fashion: Combining Tradition and Innovation

“Captain Ikat”: Textile Fantasies of Dilyara Kaipova

In case you missed it

Carpets in Uzbekistan: History and Traditions

Dinmukhamed Kunaev’s House Museum

Lost Sogdian Art in China

Central Asian and Azerbaijani Contemporary Art Discussion at Asia House, UK

The Cruel Candor of Zhanna Isabaeva

Central Asian and Azerbaijani Contemporary Art Discussion at Asia House, UK

Carpets in Uzbekistan: History and Traditions

Civil Protests, Art, and Politics in Kazakhstan

FOUNDING FATHER. Shaken Aimanov: The Man at the Core of Kazakh Cinema

In case you missed it

Carpets in Uzbekistan: History and Traditions

Dinmukhamed Kunaev’s House Museum

Lost Sogdian Art in China

Central Asian and Azerbaijani Contemporary Art Discussion at Asia House, UK

The Democracy of Ikat and Suzani, or How Unique Looks are Created in Uzbekistan

Olzhas Suleimenov on Eurasianism, Internationalism and the Forgotten Past

Uzbek Dance Art: Past and Present – In the Wake of Tashkent Encounters

The Researcher and His/Her Fieldwork in Central Eurasia (photos)

Kyrgyz Fashion: Combining Tradition and Innovation

Humans of the Polygon: Travel Notes from the Land of Abai. Karaul, Znamenka (Kokentau), Sarzhal

Translating Central Asian Literature: An Interview with Shelley Fairweather-Vega

How they met Tamara Khanum in London and the secret of Usto Olim Komilov’s turban