Köktem Shaqyrady – The Spring is Calling

Access the exhibition June 28 - July 26, 2021 at https://www.studio1-0-6.com


ABOUT THE EXHIBITION
Köktem Shaqyrady – The Spring is Calling is a virtual awareness project reimagining the past, present, and future through the prism and in the context of a former NKVD (a forerunner of the KGB) building in Almaty, Kazakhstan.
The beginning of the 20th century on the territory of Kazakhstan was marked with suffering and anxiety. The combined traumas of wartime deaths, revolutionary upheaval, mass collectivization and political repression left the survivors feeling both fearful and hopeful of what the future may bring. This region's history manifested in its people a fear of choosing, yet also inspired in them a striving to fight for their rights.

This web-based exhibit features a series of site-specific installations, soundscapes, media artworks, and archival material presented in a timeline associated with the building and its political past. The visitors are invited to take a virtual walk through the exhibit space's various stages, contexts, and meanings, journeying from the dawn of nomadism that prevailed on the territory for centuries towards the traumatic events of the 20th century. Open space concludes the walkthrough, inviting the audience to contemplate a space where choice is possible and action is the way to take the journey further.

The show features four immersive zones, each telling a particular story on the subject of political past and local identity:
> Inception
> Trauma zone
> Crisis and Rebirth
> Free Spirit

ORGANIZERS
Studio 106 LA, an alternative art space in Los Angeles, California.
Archcode Almaty, an architecture and urban design initiative in Almaty, Kazakhstan.
UCLA Art|Sci Center, facilitating collaborations between (media) arts and (bio/nano) sciences.

COSPONSORS
UCLA Center for European and Russian Studies
UCLA Program on Central Asia