Kazakhstan | Almaty Museum of Arts opening programme 2025
Almaty Museum of Arts will open in 2025 with a programme that is imagined as a festival, featuring live events and communal gatherings. The museum is inspired by the position on Al-Farabi Street – a tribute to the philosopher and author of the Great Book of Music, Abu Nasr Al-Farabi – and the vibrant legacy of aqyns, the traditional storytellers of Central Asia.
The opening programme will have sound and movement performances, cinematic sequences, and experiments with spoken word form a multisensory tapestry. Envisioned as a gesture of hospitality for Almaty, the transcultural programme activates the museum’s spaces creating encounters that forge resonant and affective bonds with the audience.
Set to open on September 2025, the museum is backed by philanthropist and collector Nurlan Smagulov and will showcase over 700 works by artists like Almagul Menlibayeva, Shaimardan Sariyev, Alicja Kwade, and Richard Serra. Designed by British architects Chapman Taylor, the new 9,400-square-metre building will house rotating exhibitions, regional commissions, and global collaborations.