In 2026, organized by the Ministry of Culture and Information, Kazakhstan will present its national pavilion at the 61st Venice Biennale of Contemporary Art, which will run from May 9 to November 22.
This year, for the first time, the pavilion's curatorial concept was selected through an open competition among Kazakhstani specialists. Following this competition, Kazakhstan will present the project "Konyr: Archive of Silence" by artist and curator Syrlybek Bekbota. Nine artists will participate in the exhibition: Ardak Mukanova, Gulmaral Tattibaeva, Natalia Ligay (ADYR-ASPAN), Anar Aubakir, Asel Kadyrkhanova, Smail Bayaliyev, Nurbol Nurakhmet, Mansur Smagambetov, and Oralbek Kaboke.
In response to the overall theme of Biennale Arte 2026, "In Minor Keys," the Kazakhstan pavilion proposes the concept of "Konyr" as a metaphorical framework. The word "qonyr" is key in Kazakh cosmology. Literally, it means "brown," but metaphorically, it has a much broader meaning: a special sonic register, the scent of the earth, the density of silence, a state of profound silence where meaning is born not through declaration, but through sensation and inner listening.
Spread across six interconnected halls of the Museo Storico Navale, the Kazakhstan pavilion offers visitors an immersive sensory journey. The distant sound of horses' hooves, spreading through the space thanks to the sound installation ADYR-ASPAN, attunes viewers to the quiet vibrations of the steppe. The exhibition then unfolds through a series of separate but interconnected spaces.
The first hall is "Aitys." This is a video installation by curator Syrlybek Bekboty, dedicated to the traditional Kazakh musical and poetic competition. The work reveals aitys as a space for lively dialogue and critical thinking, demonstrating the intersection of oral tradition and public expression. In the second hall, the installation "Beyimdelu Kabaty" creates an intimate dialogue between two artists, Mansur Smagambetov and Oralbek Kaboke. One represents the generation of artists formed in the 1980s, while the other, who returned to Kazakhstan after living abroad, explores the local context, identifying the mechanisms of cultural and personal adaptation.
The exhibition then turns to the theme of lived history. In the work "As daiyndau tәsіlderi" (The Life of a Soviet Home), Nurbol Nurakhmet reimagines the space of a Soviet domestic interior. Simultaneously, Mansur Smagambetov's installation "Balalyk shaқtyң dybysy" (The Life of a Child) reflects on his childhood spent near the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site.
In the next hall, memory is presented as a document. Asel Kadyrkhanova's work "Machine" uses an old typewriter and worn-out arrest warrants, connected with red thread. Anar Aubakir's installation "Matrix of a New Subject" transforms a family heirloom blanket, passed down from generation to generation, into a ready-made object in which the artist finds a precise expression of the metaphor of loss and the fragility of memory.
The journey concludes with Ardak Mukanova's "Konyr Aulie," a three-channel video installation dedicated to a sacred site. Using LIDAR scanning technology, the artist creates a digital model of an ancient cave and addresses the voices of residents of nearby villages, which become the central element of the narrative.
All the works in the exhibition "Konyr: Archive of Silence" form the pavilion space, inviting one to slow down and listen. Through sound, material, and the architecture of the exhibition, the exhibition offers a reflection on collective memory, history, and sustainability, encouraging a more attentive perception of both the artistic space and the surrounding world. The exhibition is inspired by the traditional 20th-century Kazakh instrumental composition "Konyr" by composer Abiken Khasenov.
Kazakhstan's participation in the exhibition is supported by Samruk-Kazyna JSC.