At the Qazaq Creative Hub, where the KOSTANAY CREATIVE CULTURE creative fair took place, visitors were particularly drawn to the exhibition of a man who has dedicated more than half a century to the preservation and study of Kazakh national ornaments. Ethnographer, master of decorative and applied arts, and researcher Shoptybai Baidildin presented works that have become part of the country's cultural heritage.
The master has decades of painstaking research behind him. Today, his personal collection contains more than two thousand examples of Kazakh national ornaments, about five hundred of which are his own. For many years, he systematized traditional patterns, studied their origins, symbolism, and meaning, preserving the unique artistic heritage of the Kazakh people. Shoptybay Baidildin is an honorary academician of the World Genghis Khan Academy, an honorary professor at the Ybyrai Altynsarin Arkalyk Pedagogical Institute, a recipient of the Ablai Khan Gold Medal, a two-time winner of the Kazyna Prize, a master ornamentalist, and a writer.
His woodwork, crafted in the finest traditions of Kazakh arts and crafts, is equally renowned. Carved furniture, chests, kebezhes, and other items decorated with national ornaments have long been the master's signature pieces and are of interest to connoisseurs of traditional art.
Shoptybay Baidildin himself is convinced that national art should not only be carefully preserved but also evolve with the times.
"We must preserve and develop the traditions inherited from our ancestors. Kazakh ornamentation can adorn any space—from household items to modern architecture." "Today, it's important to use new technologies, including artificial intelligence, to take national art to a new level and make it recognizable worldwide," the artist noted.
At the exhibition at the Qazaq yoCreative Hub, visitors were able not only to see Shoptybay Baidildin's original works but also to experience the rich history of Kazakh ornamentation, which has remained one of the main symbols of national culture for centuries. The exhibition served as a compelling reminder that true art is timeless, and traditions live on when there are people willing to dedicate their lives to them.