Focus Kazakhstan: Post-nomadic Mind

As part of the “Рухани жаңғыру” program in 2018, the National Museum of the Republic of Kazakhstan hosted the first exhibition in London as part of its large-scale "Focus Kazakhstan" project, with the support of the Ministry of Culture and Sports. The event was covered by MIA Kazinform with reference to PrimeMinister.kz. The exhibition, entitled "Postnomadic Horizons", featured 33 artists who employed the contemporary language of postmodernism, working in various artistic mediums, including painting, photography, sculpture, installation and video.This exhibition explored contemporary art in Kazakhstan as a dialogue between modern artists and their Soviet forebears, who reflected on the idea of post-nomadism through their art. The curators of the exhibition, Indira Dussabayeva and Aliya de Tiesenhausen, argued that Kazakh art history should be considered within the context of global trends and the role of Kazakhstan in the globalization process.The exhibition space hosted a series of discussions between artists and their forebears from the Soviet period, as well as an analysis of how consciousness was gradually decolonized. The curators were Indira Dyusebayeva-Ziyabek, Aliya de Tiesenhausen, Alima Boranbayeva as assistant curator, and Olga Sova as consultant. As Aliya de Tiesenhausen noted, the Soviet era marked the final destruction of nomadic life, and the current era of globalization also affects the still-existing nomadic culture - traditions and customs.

The concept of "post-nomadism" refers to the past of nomadism associated with Kazakhstan, and it is actively reflected in the artistic works from both the Soviet era and contemporary art. "Post-nomadic consciousness" is a literal translation of the English name of the exhibition. In this context, "conscience" denotes a rejection of visual stereotypes related to our country and a desire to analyze the works of artists in the context of their conscious and unconscious processing of history and the present, according to A. de Tiesenhaus's remarks.According to the curators of the exhibition, the works on display pose a certain question for viewers about their roles as subjects or objects in the context of nationalism, traditionalism, consumerism, feminism, post-colonialism and post-nomadism. Some of the works by Rustam Halfin presented at the exhibition are also available for viewing on our website through the link provided.