Cultural industries in Kazakhstan: models, challenges, and strategies
This report summarises debates and conversations between MOST business incubator students and a project team including Chevron, MOST, the British Council and sector stakeholders from architecture, theatre, crafts, fashion, and design, as well as the Almaty Development Center, part of the City Council. The report contains questions which encourage thinking about future actions to support the cultural industries in Kazakhstan.
The report is published in three languages, and includes the first ever translation of the international term 'creative industries' into Kazakh.
Report is prepared by Christiaan De Beukelaer, University of Melbourne and Galina Koretskaya, Head of Arts at the British Council Kazakhstan.
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CULTURAL INDUSTRIES IN KAZAKHSTAN: BACKGROUND INFORMATION
There are very few, if any, large, well established companies working in creative industries in Kazakhstan. There are no large manufacturers for design and fashion. Young, creative entrepreneurs are the most active in leading innovation in the sector. They also constitute a new urban generation. For many, creative industries are the means of their existence.
But the question remains: how should political citizenship, cultural activism, creative innovation and the need to make a living in a volatile environment be connected?
It is in the light of these challenges, a partnership emerged between Chevron, MOST, and the British Council in Kazakhstan. Their joint programme helps develop skills for young Kazakhstani creative entrepreneurs and managers. The programme consists of the business incubator MOST's School of Entrepreneurs and a series of skills-specific workshops in industrial design, fashion, architecture and urban planning.
A series of workshops held in January 2016 formed the basis of the research.
External consultant Dr. Christiaan De Beukelaer, University of Melbourne facilitated these sessions and presented his findings at a public talk on 22 January 2016 at SIGS Art Space in Panfilov Park, Almaty.