A group of five students on the MA in Eastern European Studies at the Free University of Berlin are organising the exhibition ‘Memory & Identity in Contemporary Kazakhstani Art’ at Zeit ist knapp in Berlin-Steglitz from 2 to 30 October.

The exhibition has been organised in collaboration with four contemporary female artists from Kazakhstan: Almagul Menlibayeva, Oksana Shatalova, Safina Aktay and Irina Dmitrovskaya. In their works, they explore memory, identity and belonging in times of social and political change in various ways.

On display and to be heard are photographs, film, audio and literature. With this exhibition, we aim to create an open space for encounter and discussion, and to highlight perspectives that have so far received comparatively little attention in the German discourse on Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

At the opening, Prof. Dr Robert Kindler will give an introduction to the history of Kazakhstan, whilst the Kazakhstani art collective ORTA and the artist Saltanat Shoshanova will present contributions on contemporary and queer-feminist art.

Opening:

2 October 2026, 5.00 pm

Exhibition dates:

2–30 October 2026

Venue:

Zeit ist Knapp / Centre for International Arts

Steglitzer Kreisel, formerly Globetrotter

Schloßstraße 78–82

12165 Berlin