Threads of Heritage, a retrospective of Batima Zaurbekova’s work, has opened at the Abilkhan Kasteyev National Museum of Arts in Almaty, Kazakhstan. Marking the artist’s 80th birthday, the exhibition opened on 25 September and runs until 8 November.
The three galleries contain more than 80 works, including tapestries, paintings, drawings and archival material. Highlights include Expanse (1976), Mother Earth (1984) and Motherhood (2004).
The exhibition traces how Kazakh carpet-weaving traditions became the foundation for a contemporary artistic language. Family, motherhood, nature and cultural memory recur throughout Zaurbekova’s work.
Her first teacher was her mother, Bibikhan, a traditional craftswoman. Zaurbekova later helped establish Kazakhstan’s professional tapestry tradition.
Sketches and photographs accompany the works from different periods, giving visitors an insight into the process from an initial idea to a finished woven piece.
