Smithsonian in Almaty: Kazakhstan and U.S. launch intangible heritage project
From April 29 to May 7, Almaty is hosting a delegation from the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage (USA) along with representatives of the Southwest Folklife Alliance, Qazinform News Agency reports, citing Music Unbound's press service.
The visit is taking place as part of the Kazakhstan–Smithsonian Professional Development Project in Intangible Cultural Heritage (Heritage in Motion) – a joint initiative of the Smithsonian Institution, the Almaty-based cultural organization Music Unbound, and the Southwest Folklife Alliance (Tucson, USA).
This marks the first practical step in implementing agreements reached in September 2025, when the President of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, personally met with the Smithsonian Institution's leadership in New York and expressed support for joint efforts to promote Kazakh culture on the international stage.
The Kazakhstan–Smithsonian Professional Development Project in Intangible Cultural Heritage was launched in March 2026. It aims to create sustainable professional ties between practitioners of intangible cultural heritage in Kazakhstan and the United States, primarily through the sister-city partnership of Almaty and Tucson.
The project will culminate with the participation of Kazakh tradition bearers at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival 2027, one of the world's major ethnic culture festivals, which annually draws hundreds of thousands of visitors to the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The project shifts the focus from institutional preservation of heritage to living practice and people: to those who carry traditions forward, develop them, and pass them on. This is its fundamental difference from standard documentation and archiving programs.
During the visit, the American delegation is exploring the Kazakh traditional culture in its living dimension – by meeting with researchers, cultural scholars, and directly with tradition bearers.
Among the dialogue participants are Kazakh mythology researcher Zira Nauryzbay, cultural scholar Almira Nauryzbayeva, ethnomusicologist Saida Yelemanova, restoration artist Krym Altynbekov, and many other experts whose work spans a wide range of directions: from archaic forms of oral epic poetry to contemporary transformations of traditional culture.
Alongside this, the delegation is meeting with musicians and creative groups working at the intersection of tradition and the contemporary stage.
These meetings are shaping the foundation for further collaboration in curation and research, which will continue in August 2026, when culture bearers from Tucson will come to Almaty.
It is important to emphasize that the Kazakhstan–Smithsonian Professional Development Project in Intangible Cultural Heritage is not built on a logic of 'studying from the outside' but rather as an equal exchange. In this project, Kazakhstan is a full partner, with its own expertise, voices, and agenda in the field of intangible cultural heritage. This is also confirmed by the project's structure: in October 2026, Kazakh tradition bearers will make a return visit to Tucson to participate in the Tucson Meet Yourself festival, one of the largest folk festivals in the United States.
Dr. Maribel Alvarez, founder of the Southwest Folklife Alliance, noted that through years of close interaction with tradition bearers in the communities of Tucson and the southwestern United States, it has become obvious that exchange with other artists is a resource that continues to yield results. She added that they value the opportunity to connect the two regions of the world that have more in common than might first appear.
About Music Unbound
Music Unbound is a cultural initiative and research platform based in Almaty. The organization brings together musical activities, inclusive methodologies, and experimental artistic practices. Music Unbound implements interdisciplinary projects, from performances and labs to media formats and research programs, working with professional artists, scientists, and bearers of local knowledge.
As Qazinform News Agency previously reported, in September 2025, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev participated in a roundtable discussion with the representatives of American businesses in New York. There, the Kazakh President also addressed the issue of cultural support from the business community.
“Today, I was pleased to learn of the Smithsonian Institution’s decision to establish the Kazakhstan Cultural Heritage Fund, which will focus on preserving, studying, and promoting our country’s rich heritage on the global stage,” Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said.
