Esik Enbekshikazakh district of Almaty region 1917-2008 Almaty, Kazakhstan

(1917, Esik – 2008, Almaty) The first professionally trained female artist in Kazakhstan, Aisha Galymbaeva was a pioneering figure in Central Asian art. From rural life to industrial scenes and a series of striking portraits, her work offers an insight into women’s experiences in Soviet society. Galymbayeva studied at the Kazakh State Theatre and Art College under Leonid Leontiev, an artist and educator also featured in Qonaqtar. She then enrolled at the All-Russian State University of Cinematography (VGIK) in Moscow and worked as a production and costume designer upon her return to Almaty in 1949. Her interest in dress led to the book Kazakh National Costume (1958), which she illustrated based on research across Kazakhstan. On view in Qonaqtar, her painting Bride uses traditional dress and symbols like the dombra to reflect national identity. Hospitality and celebration, central themes to the exhibition, recur in Shepherd’s Feast and White Teapot, while the painting Friendship reflects the Cold War-era international solidarity, a nod to the 1973 Afro-Asian Writers’ Conference in Almaty, where she welcomed the delegates.