On October 30, 2025, the National Historical Museum of the Kyrgyz Republic hosted the opening of the international photo exhibition “In the Footsteps of Centuries: The Image of Kazakhstan’s History,” organized by the Committee on Culture of the Ministry of Culture and Information of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the National Central Museum of the Republic of Kazakhstan, and the National Historical Museum of the Kyrgyz Republic.
The project aims to present the historical and cultural heritage of Kazakhstan from the 19th to the 20th century and to develop scientific and cultural cooperation between Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.
The exhibition included photo-documentary materials from the collections of the National Central Museum of the Republic of Kazakhstan, reflecting the processes of national identity formation, modernization, and cultural transformations.
Particular attention was paid to the visualization of traditional lifestyles, stages of industrialization, and the musical heritage of Kazakhstan. A separate section displayed copies of instruments belonging to Abai Kunanbayev, Zhambyl Zhabayev, Dina Nurpeisova, and Kenen Azirbaev.
At the opening ceremony, the director of the National Historical Museum of the Kyrgyz Republic, Zh.K. Bakashova, the assistant minister of culture, information, and youth policy of the Kyrgyz Republic, Bakytbek Shaikbekovich Sekimbaev, the deputy director of the National Central Museum of the Republic of Kazakhstan, A.B. Balaeva, as well as leading scholars and representatives of cultural institutions from both countries spoke.
Participants emphasized the significance of the exhibition as an example of effective inter-museum collaboration and noted the role of visual sources in reconstructing historical memory and studying socio-cultural processes in Central Asia.
The event concluded with a performance by dombra player Nurlan Abdiraliyev, a member of the Association of Kazakhs in Kyrgyzstan, and a guided tour of the exhibition.
The exhibition was visited by more than 1,000 people, including representatives of the scientific community, cultural workers, and students.