ASPAN GALLERY TOGETHER WITH THE STEPPE IS LAUNCHING AN ANNUAL PRIZE FOR YOUNG ARTISTS - "B BUBIKANOVA ART PRIZE" AND AN EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM SUPPORTED BY AYARKUT

In January of this year, an open call was held, and we received 188 submissions from 35 cities worldwide, featuring works in various techniques. Among the applicants were not only individual artists from Central Asia with their unique practices but also collectives.

The expert commission, consisting of Yuliya Sorokina, Yelena Vorobyeva, Inga Lace, Ulan Djaparov, and Andrea Bustillos Duhart, selected 11 finalists whose works are presented at the exhibition. The competition did not have a specific theme, but the jury chose works they considered congruent with the artistic practice of Baha Bubikanova.

On the opening day of the exhibition, the selection committee from the A. Kasteev State Museum of Arts chose Madina Joldybek's project "Ordinary Star, Neutron Star, Black Hole" (2021), which was added to the museum's collection. The author received a prize of 1,000,000 tenge from the project sponsor, the artistic director of the Turkestan Musical Drama Theater and producer, Aynur Kopbasarova.

Additionally, Yelena Vorobyeva, a representative of the expert commission, announced the jury’s choice for the winner of the competition – the collective from Bishkek, Zamanbap art, with the installation "Kishky Theater" (2024). The Almaty Museum of Arts acquired the work for its collection and also awarded the authors a prize of 1,000,000 tenge.

Before the opening of the finalists' exhibition at Aspan Gallery, an educational program was held for all interested participants with the support of inDrive. During the five-day program, speakers from Kazakhstan, as well as from neighboring and distant countries – artists, curators, art historians – shared their knowledge on topics such as how to create a portfolio, write an artist’s statement, properly pack and store artworks, both physical and digital, and many other valuable tips.

As part of the program:

- One of the leading contemporary artists, Olaf Nikolai, shared advice on how to present your works and write an artist's statement.

- Central Asian artist Khadim Ali, of Hazara descent, gave a lecture on the art of storytelling in the epic poem Shahnameh and explained how he integrates contemporary reality and imagination into this traditional narrative in his artistic practices.

- Garage Academy conducted a two-day intensive workshop on packing and properly storing artworks.

- Art historian and curator Valeria Ibraeva gave a two-part lecture on the history of art in independent Kazakhstan.

- Artists Yelena and Viktor Vorobyev shared practical experience working with exhibition spaces.

- Vladimir Opredelenov, former head of the IT Department for Culture at the Higher School of Economics (Moscow), talked about the process of digitizing and long-term storage of digital files. We recommend listening to this lecture even if you don’t work directly with digital art.

All lectures are available via the LINK.

Expert Committee:

Yuliya Sorokina – PhD, independent curator (Аlmaty)

Yelena Vorobyeva – artist (Аlmaty)

Inga Lace – Chief Curator, Almaty Museum of Arts (Almaty/Riga)

Ulan Djaparov – artist (Bishkek)

Andrea Bustillos Duhart – Chief Curator, Ayarkut (Mexico)

The finalists of the first B Bubikanova Art Prize competition for young artists are:

1. Aida Adilbek (Almaty)

2. Alina Arystanbaeva (Almaty)

3. Zhanar Bereketova (Almaty)

4. Zulya Yesentaeva (Bishkek)

5. Madina Joldybek (London)

6. Aiganym Mukhamedzhan (Shu)

7. Leonid Khan (Almaty)

8. Lyazzat Khanim (Almaty)

9. Guzel Zakir (Almaty)

10. Shoya (Almaty)

11. Zamanbap art (Bishkek)

Partners of the Project: