A. Kasteyev State Museum of Arts, Art museum in Almaty, Kazakhstan.
The A. Kasteyev State Museum of Arts occupies a Soviet-modernist building of 1969–1976 by architects E. Kuznetsova, O. Naumova and B. Novikov, a 60 by 116.4 m block with an inner courtyard at second-floor level. A four-sided glass pyramid roof lights the 24 by 24 m central hall, and the galleries take daylight through reinforced-glass ceilings on aluminium frames. The entrance porch has white marble columns and a red granite ramp.
The museum opened in the mid-1970s and took the name of a well-known Kazakh painter. Since then the collection has grown through donations and acquisitions from across the country.
The museum's name honours Abilkhan Kasteyev, the first Kazakh painter to receive the title of People's Artist of the Kazakh SSR. In 2004, UNESCO marked his centenary with a large exhibition of over 400 watercolours and paintings, photographs and personal objects, shown in four halls and later at UNESCO headquarters in Paris. A small art academy for children runs alongside the museum.
Guided tours in several languages and educational programs for children are available on request. Discounts apply throughout the week for students and older visitors.
On the top floor there is a small section of traditional Kazakh applied arts that many visitors walk past. Embroidered felt, carved wood and painted leather pieces are displayed there.
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