Something about Contemporary Nomadism
30 November 2017 - 14 January 2018
Aspan Gallery is pleased to present the first solo show of renowned Kyrgyz artists in Central Asia. Something about Contemporary Nomadism will include installations, video and photography of the artist couple from Bishkek Gulnara Kasmalieva and Muratbek Djumaliev, including their programmatic Transsiberian Amazons (2005) and Brooklyn Bridge (2010), as well as the new works that will be shown for the first time.
The show Something about Contemporary Nomadism will be held at EXPO Villa, Villa Boutiques & Restaurants (Al-Farabi 140 A) from 30 November 2017 to 14 January 2018.
Shiryaevo Biennale. Central Russian Zen
1 September - 8 October 2017
Central Russian Zen group exhibition opened in the National Centre for Contemporary Arts, part of ROSIZO. The exhibition was a metaphorical reflection on the experience of the oldest active international biennale of contemporary art in Russia, which has been held since 1999 in the ancient Russian village of Shiryaevo on the Volga bank, one of the most beautiful places of the Samara bend surrounded by the Zhiguli Nature Reserve on all sides. The Shiryaevo Biennale was intended and carried out as an international experimental project by famous Russian curators Nelya Korzhova and Roman Korzhov, the founders of the Samara Regional Public Charity Foundation The Centre for Contemporary Art with active contribution from Hanns-Michael Rupprechter and the Stuttgart Union of Artists from Germany as well as a group of artists from Kazakhstan headed by Rustam Khalfin and Sergey Maslov.
www.ncca.ru
Bakhyt Bubikanova in a group show 'Elsewhere'
6 - 10 October 2017
Bakhyt Bubikanova's works will be presented at Floodlight Foundation's first exhibition in London. The group show entitled Elsewhere brings attention to artists having a moment elsewhere but who have had little or no exposure in London before.
On Borders and Other Inventions
14 October - 12 November 2017
Aspan Gallery presents a new show On Borders and Other Inventions with Kazakhstani Said Atabekov and Malian Abdoulaye Konaté. Despite the obvious cultural and geographical differences, both artists explore the issues of borders, identity, and interaction of different cultures, religions and ideologies and work with traditional for their respecitve regions materials. This would be the first show of Aspan Gallery's series of exhibitions-dialogues between a Central Asian and another non-Western contemporary artist.
‘NotNotNot’ – Exhibition of Central Asian Artists
24 September – 15 October 2017
A group show of Central Asian contemporary artists NotNotNot opened at Asanbay Centre in Bishkek. Three main complaints most commonly expressed by artists are reflected in the exhibition’s title: "Not as I wanted", "Not according to the plan", "Not the right size". The show, curated by Ulan Japarov, brought together the works from Central Asian artists of different generations. Yelena and Viktor Vorobyev and Said Atabekov presented their new pieces, whereas the younger generation of Kazakhstani art scene was represented by Bakhyt Bubikanova.
ART PROSPECT – BISHKEK: GREEN ZONES – NEW BREATH
22 - 24 September 2017
International Public Art Festival Art Prospect founded by a non-profit organization CEC ArtsLink will take place in Bishkek Botanical Garden in the end of September. The festival will feature artists and collectives from Belarus, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Ukraine and the USA. Artists and organizers propose to re-imagine and invigorate the Botanical Garden, using art, design and architecture tools, helping to organize a place for informal meetings of citizens of all ages and groups. This year’s festival edition is curated by a Bishkek-based artist duo of Gulnara Kasmalieva and Muratbek Djumaliev.
Almagul Menlibayeva and Said Atabekov in 'Reconciliation. Memory of the steppes'
2 - 16 September 2017
The project Reconciliation is an attempt to rethink the events of the civil war in Russia and abroad in a series of exhibition projects. The exhibition unites works by artists from Russia and Kazakhstan, and refers to matters of historical and collective memory, fancy trajectories of its development and transformations. Trying to locate and reconstruct the unspoken history of the civil war in Kazakhstan, the artists use different ways of experiencing human history and war. The project is a part of ArtBat Fest 8 and is on display at Almaty Art Centre..
Yerbossyn Meldibekov in “A Romance with Revolution”
18 August – 12 November 2017
An international group exhibition A Romance with Revolution opened at ACC Galerie in Weimar and at Pushkinskaya-10, Saint-Petersburg independent cultural center. 100 years after “The Red October” the show raises the topic of fascination for riot, revolution and revolt as well as for the heritage and heirs, lessons and consequences from epochmaking changes. A Romance with Revolution presents works by 19 artists from 11 countries including Yerbossyn Meldibekov.
Gulnara Kasmalieva and Muratbek Djumaliev in a Group Show "A Global Table"
23 September 2017 - 7 January 2018
Bishkek-based artist duo of Gulnara Kasmalieva and Muratbek Djumaliev will take part in a group show A Global Table which will run in the Frans Hals Museum in Haarlem. This exhibition featuring old and new art will showcase the food still lifes of the Golden Age offering an alternative reading of these works as documents from the history of the Netherlands’ colonial and trade relations in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The show will be completed by the works of contemporary artists interested in world trade and the effects of colonialism. A Global Table will be on display through 7 January 2018.
"The Resurgence of Central Asia: Islam or Nationalism?"
A new book by one of Pakistan’s most gifted political commentators Ahmed Rashid The Resurgence of Central Asia: Islam or Nationalism? is being launched. The study analyses the political and social landscape of the Central Asian Respublics that emerged after the collapse of the Soviet Union – Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. On the cover Yelena and Victor Vorobyevs' installation One of the Ways of Leveling of the Horizon.