Get to know Kazakh art in the A. Kasteev Museum in Almaty

Have you ever wondered how Kazakh art looks like? Probably the best place to discover it is the State Museum of Arts of Kazakhstan named after Abylkhan Kasteev, our famous artist. It's the largest art museum in the country and leading research and cultural-educational center in the field of visual arts. Here, you can see the best paintings of Kazakh artists and get familiar with Kazakh culture. So, don't miss your chance to get to know Kazakh art in the A. Kasteev Museum in Almaty.

Дом - музей А.Кастеева

Bekkhozhina 6A, Almaty 050000, Kazakhstan

The history of the museum starts in 1935 with the exhibition of "The 15th anniversary of the foundation of the Kazakh SSR". At that time, it was decided to create the Kazakh State Art Gallery named after Taras Shevchenko. Only in 1984, the museum was named after Abylkhan Kasteev, the founder of the national school of painting.

Who are Taras Shevchenko and Abylkhan Kasteev?

Taras Grigorievich Shevchenko was a Ukranian poet and artist. During Stalin's repressions, he spent ten years in Kazakhstan. Therefore, his art left a mark in Kazakhstan's art history.  Abylkhan Kasteev was one of the first Kazakh painters and a national artist of the Kazakh SSR. He created more than 1000 paintings in watercolors and oil. Many schools, streets and museums are named after him.

The architecture of the museum

The building is designed in such a way that it is difficult for a visitor to get lost. From the spacious atrium, a person enters the main hall, and from there into the next halls. There's a continuous circular passage through all the halls. The museum has 12 rooms. The main architectural element of the museum is a glass pyramid on the roof of the main hall. It provides a large amount of light going into the hall and is made of two layers of glass (external and internal). In the evening, the pyramid is illuminated from the inside. All halls of the museum are equipped with special refrigeration systems that maintain the optimum temperature for storing the paintings.

The museum today

Today, the Kasteev Museum is a multifunctional space, a point of attraction. The museum has works of Kazakh and Russian artists, but the collection also contains works by artists from Holland, Italy, England, France, and many other countries. Moreover, the Kasteev Museum provides master classes and lectures to all visitors.  

The museum is open every day, except Mondays, from 10:00 to 18:00. Entrance prices: adults - 500 tenge (1,15 euro), students of art schools - 200 tenge (0,46 euro).

Don't miss the opportunity to get to know Kazakh art in the A.Kasteev Museum in Almaty. It will help you to enrich your knowledge about Kazakh culture and see the best works of local artists.