The Ministry of Culture and Information of the Republic of Kazakhstan announces the results of the competition for curatorial proposals for the National Pavilion of the Republic of Kazakhstan at the 61st Venice Biennale in 2026.
Based on the voting results, the winning concept was "KONYR: Archive of Silence," curated by Syrlybek Bekbotayev.
The 61st Venice Biennale will be held from May 9 to November 22, 2026. During these dates, the National Pavilion of Kazakhstan will be presented as part of the Biennale program.
The competition was held as part of the development of transparent and sustainable practices for preparing the national pavilion. Applications were accepted for one month. The selection process consisted of two stages: an expert evaluation of materials and online interviews with the finalists.
Evaluation was based on three criteria: conceptual integrity (up to 25 points), management and implementation (up to 20 points), and experience, ethics, and sustainability (up to 20 points). Each question was scored from 1 to 5, with the final score determined by the total.
Three projects advanced to the final round of the first stage. In the second stage, the jury conducted online interviews with each finalist and, following the discussions, completed the final voting forms.
The selection committee was formed based on the principle of interdisciplinary expertise and included local and international experts in contemporary art, art history, independent theater, and music, as well as representatives of the academic community and state museums.
As a reminder, the competition was announced in November 2025. Its goal is to select a conceptually and artistically coherent project that reflects the theme of the 2026 Biennale, "In Minor Keys," and presents contemporary art from Kazakhstan on the international stage.
Curators and curatorial teams—citizens of the Republic of Kazakhstan with curatorial experience—were invited to participate. Priority was given to candidates working and living in Kazakhstan.
Syrlybek Bekbotayev is an artist and curator living and working in Astana. His practice focuses on memory and cultural heritage. He graduated from the L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University in 2025 with a degree in Cultural Studies.