Kazakh artist Batima Zaurbekova’s work celebrated
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Batima Zaurbekova, a pioneer of Kazakh tapestry, received a retrospective exhibition, “Threads of Heritage,” at the Abylkhan Kasteyev National Museum of Arts in Almaty, Kazakhstan, marking her 80th birthday.
Born in 1946 in a remote village, Zaurbekova pursued art despite initial discouragement from teachers who favored painting over weaving, a craft then considered less valuable. Her mother, a skilled craftswoman, inspired her to become an artist and supported her journey to art school in Almaty.
Zaurbekova dedicated herself to weaving, often working fifteen hours a day, and eventually found mentorship with Kurasbek Tynybekov, a founding figure of Kazakh tapestry. She developed a style blending painting techniques with the meticulous process of tapestry creation, utilizing traditional flat-woven Gobelin methods. She and a group of fellow artists received commissions and recognition, including the Kazakh SSR’s Shokan Valikhanov State Prize in 1980 for her tapestry Rainbow.
The “Threads of Heritage” exhibition, curated by Alina Fedorovich, displays over 80 of Zaurbekova’s tapestries, paintings, sketches, and archival materials. The show positions her work within a broader movement to reclaim Central Asian art canons and include artists from outside the Euro-American tradition. Zaurbekova’s art draws inspiration from nomadic heritage, ancient rock carvings, and a deep connection to the landscape and culture of Kazakhstan, expressing themes of womanhood, spirituality, and the Silk Road.
