What changes when a city gains a museum? The answer depends on the relationships it builds with residents, schools, universities and nearby public spaces. That question runs through Museums and Cities of the Future, a conference programme prepared by Almaty Museum of Arts in collaboration with the Embassy of Spain in Kazakhstan.

The Spanish examples offer different approaches. The programme features the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, whose work is connected to the city’s cultural renewal. Curator Lucía Agirre’s presentation examines the museum’s contribution to education, creativity and the local cultural community.

Another example, Madrid’s CentroCentro, focuses on the relationship between an institution and its host city. The emphasis is on the cultural space’s own identity and its ability to engage with life beyond the exhibition galleries.

For Almaty, the discussion raises specific questions. How can culture become part of everyday urban routes? How can existing buildings be used? Where can residents learn about their city’s architecture and discuss its changes? These themes appear in the Kazakh participants’ presentations.

The Almaty Manifesto has a distinct place in the programme. The organisers propose developing it with InVision U students as an open collection of ideas about the future of museums and cultural infrastructure. This gives young participants a way to formulate their own proposals for the city.

A guide by the OECD and the International Council of Museums offers a broader perspective. It examines museums’ contributions to local development through the economy, education, social connections and participation by different communities. Assessment extends beyond the number of tickets sold.

These approaches suggest a practical benchmark for Almaty: a museum’s importance can also be measured by how regularly residents need it. Do schoolchildren return? Does collaborative research emerge? Do local artists gain space to work? Such relationships can gradually embed a cultural institution in urban life.

Editorial analysis based on the Almaty Museum of Arts programme and OECD–ICOM materials.