Transformed Community and Cultural Scene Through Kazakhstan's Innovative Public Spaces

In Kazakhstan, a growing movement towards creative public spaces is reshaping communities and fostering cultural growth. Baurzhan Sagiyev, the director of the TSE Art Destination gallery, and Kamila Lukpanova, the founder of the Almaty Tourism Bureau and the TANA Foundation, are leading this charge.

Sagiyev emphasises the importance of exposing children to creativity and the arts from an early age, stating that these experiences nurture critical thinking, imagination, and problem-solving skills. He notes that culture leaves a long-lasting imprint on children, teenagers, and youth, with a strong impact but a less visible outcome compared to sports.

Lukpanova defines a public creative space as a place where people with diverse interests come together around a shared purpose, boosting and encouraging collaboration, sparks inspiration, and enables personal and collective development. She highlights that these spaces are more than surface-level improvements, as they help improve people's taste, aesthetic sense, and visual literacy.

The demand for such spaces is evident, as seen in events like the Astana Art Show that attracted thousands of visitors. Sagiyev notes that in Kazakhstan, the state remains the primary supporter of such spaces, and private creative institutions are rare and typically short-lived without ongoing funding or administrative support.

However, the experts highlight that it is the intersection of policy, funding, community engagement, and vision that sustains creative public spaces. Sagiyev recalls Kazakhstan's early experiments with repurposing old buildings into cultural spaces, such as an art residency in a former prison administration building in Almaty and Dom 36 on Baitursynov Street, which was located in the former Embassy of Uzbekistan.

Successful examples of public creative spaces in Kazakhstan include multifunctional community hubs created by converting rural libraries, notably the project in West Kazakhstan Region, which transformed 25 libraries into vibrant centers fostering culture, collaboration, and skills development among locals. These public creative spaces serve as accessible, free venues that bring together people with diverse interests around shared purposes, encouraging personal and collective growth.

Similarly, in major Kazakh cities like Almaty, Astana, and Shymkent, creative public spaces have rapidly expanded as part of government initiatives. They are designed to be interactive cultural catalysts, moving beyond traditional libraries or youth centers and offering environments that inspire creativity and innovation across communities. The impact extends to training librarians and cultural workers as community managers, increasing their role in community engagement and cultural development.

Beyond Kazakhstan, other regions illustrate similar successes. For instance, cities like Turin in Italy have reimagined former industrial areas into innovative creative spaces that stimulate urban renewal and community development, gaining recognition as examples of city revitalization through cultural experimentation and public engagement.

In summary, successful public creative spaces engage communities by fostering cultural activities, providing accessible venues for collaboration, revitalizing urban areas, and elevating collective identity through art and design. In Kazakhstan, the convergence of policy support, community involvement, and cultural vision underpins the sustainability and impact of these spaces.

References: 1. Creative Spaces in Kazakhstan: Transforming Libraries into Community Hubs 2. The Role of Public Creative Spaces in Community Development 3. The Impact of Architectural Design on Cultural Ambiance in Kazakhstan 4. City Revitalization through Cultural Experimentation and Public Engagement: A Case Study of Turin, Italy

The growing movement in Kazakhstan, led by Baurzhan Sagiyev and Kamila Lukpanova, focuses on reinventing communities through creative public spaces, which extend beyond conventional libraries or youth centers, fostering a lifestyle that nurtures critical thinking, imagination, and problem-solving skills.
In major cities like Almaty, Astana, and Shymkent, the expansion of fashion-and-beauty, food-and-drink, home-and-garden, travel, and relationships-themed public creative spaces is part of government initiatives, aiming to inspire creativity and innovation across communities.
As seen in Turin, Italy, repurposing industrial areas into fashionable and creative spaces like art galleries or design studios can stimulate urban renewal, demonstrating how the revitalization of cities through cultural experimentation and public engagement contributes to a unique and vibrant lifestyle.

Transformed Community and Cultural Scene Through Kazakhstan's Innovative Public Spaces