Monumental Art and Almaty
Monumental Almaty is a project to document, research, and preserve works of monumental art in Almaty, Kazakhstan.
Almaty is the largest city in this Central Asian country, and was once the capital of the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic, one of the 15 constituent republics of the USSR. Throughout the Soviet era, and especially in the period from 1965-1985, Almaty’s buildings were widely decorated with mosaics, relief sculptures, stained glass, murals and sgraffiti (a medium using layers of colored plaster). These art forms were collectively known as monumental’noe iskusstvo (монументальное искусство), or “monumental art.”
As in other cities throughout the former Soviet Union, many of Almaty’s public artworks have been overlooked since the collapse of communism in 1991. As public buildings have been sold off or renovated, works of monumental art have been destroyed or damaged. There are still more than a hundred works left in Almaty, but until now nothing has been done to systematically catalog them, research them or reckon with their fate. On this website, you can explore dozens of monumental artworks, learn about their authors, discover how they were made, learn what we’re doing to save them and contribute to the cause.
Almaty is the largest city in this Central Asian country, and was once the capital of the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic, one of the 15 constituent republics of the USSR. Throughout the Soviet era, and especially in the period from 1965-1985, Almaty’s buildings were widely decorated with mosaics, relief sculptures, stained glass, murals and sgraffiti (a medium using layers of colored plaster). These art forms were collectively known as monumental’noe iskusstvo (монументальное искусство), or “monumental art.”
As in other cities throughout the former Soviet Union, many of Almaty’s public artworks have been overlooked since the collapse of communism in 1991. As public buildings have been sold off or renovated, works of monumental art have been destroyed or damaged. There are still more than a hundred works left in Almaty, but until now nothing has been done to systematically catalog them, research them or reckon with their fate. On this website, you can explore dozens of monumental artworks, learn about their authors, discover how they were made, learn what we’re doing to save them and contribute to the cause.
Project History
Monumental Almaty grew out of a site called Walking Almaty that I began after moving to Kazakhstan from California in 2013. Walking Almaty is also concerned with documenting, studying and celebrating this city’s unique urban landscape, and mosaics in particular have been a long-time interest. By 2017, I had collected hundreds of photographs of monumental artworks that I had discovered during my walks through Almaty, and I built this website to bring special focus to this collection.
Having documented so many artworks, I was fascinated by learning more about their history. Who made them? When, and how? Though most monumentalists, as the artists are called, have immigrated or passed away, I’ve met with the few remaining artists and learned about their craft. We’ve spoken to local art historians, and books and catalogs in Almaty’s libraries have revealed much information about the authorship of many of the artworks. We can now trace a basic history of how they came to be.
Having documented so many artworks, I was fascinated by learning more about their history. Who made them? When, and how? Though most monumentalists, as the artists are called, have immigrated or passed away, I’ve met with the few remaining artists and learned about their craft. We’ve spoken to local art historians, and books and catalogs in Almaty’s libraries have revealed much information about the authorship of many of the artworks. We can now trace a basic history of how they came to be.
Future Goals
The last task we’ve set for ourselves is the most difficult, to preserve and restore Almaty’s surviving works of monumental art. We believe this heritage has historic, cultural and historic value and should be protected and maintained in as close to its original state as possible. We’ve started to meet with the artist union, local city officials, and property owners to develop a framework for how monumental art can be preserved.
Meanwhile, some works have been saved from destruction and even restored. Due to the intervention of Monumental Almaty, city authorities have cancelled their plans to demolish a bas-relief sculpture, and are instead planning to renovate it. Working with local artists and volunteers we have started to clean and repaint other bas-relief sculptures in Almaty. We’re also working to organize the artist union’s stock of smalti tiles, which we recently uncovered, for use in future restoration work.
All of this work is non-profit and led by volunteers such as myself. If you find Almaty’s monumental art as fascinating and important as I do, please consider making a donation, and if you live in Almaty, join our group of volunteers.
Thank you,
Dennis Keen
Meanwhile, some works have been saved from destruction and even restored. Due to the intervention of Monumental Almaty, city authorities have cancelled their plans to demolish a bas-relief sculpture, and are instead planning to renovate it. Working with local artists and volunteers we have started to clean and repaint other bas-relief sculptures in Almaty. We’re also working to organize the artist union’s stock of smalti tiles, which we recently uncovered, for use in future restoration work.
All of this work is non-profit and led by volunteers such as myself. If you find Almaty’s monumental art as fascinating and important as I do, please consider making a donation, and if you live in Almaty, join our group of volunteers.
Thank you,
Dennis Keen
