This month, the Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, with support from Chevron, launches the Kazakhstan Cultural Heritage Fund. The fund will support the study, documentation, and presentation of the Central Asian nation’s cultural heritage.
“Together with the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, Chevron is delighted to support Kazakhstan’s newly created Cultural Heritage Fund,” said Derek Magness, managing director of Chevron Eurasia Business Unit. “Kazakhstan has a rich heritage influenced by its nomadic past and its place at the crossroads of civilizations. This is evident in many aspects of Kazakh culture today, spanning crafts, music, literature, and many other traditions. The Cultural Heritage Fund will help to preserve the country’s rich cultural and history, and encourage international collaboration and creativity.”
The fund allows the Center to undertake a variety of community-based activities that will enhance the sustainability and visibility of Kazakhstani craft and cultural heritage through research, documentation, workshops, exchanges, and publications.
"Cultural work takes time, and this long-term investment from Chevron allows our staff to engage in meaningful work, building strong relationships and engaging teams from across the Smithsonian for exchange with our colleagues in Kazakhstan,” said Halle Butvin, the Center’s director of special projects.
The fund’s first project, the Kazakhstan Artisan Initiative, enables the Center to continue collaborating with the Union of Artisans of Kazakhstan, a longtime partner. The initiative is part of the Smithsonian’s Cultural Vitality Program and draws upon the work of the Smithsonian Folklife Festival.
Despite lingering impacts from the Soviet era, Kazakhstan’s rich traditions and craft practices remain an integral part of the country’s culture today. Kazakhstan boasts six World Heritage Sites, was an integral part of the Silk Road, and is still deeply connected to its nomadic roots. Its vast terrain and climate have contributed to its equally vast array of cultural heritage and traditions. From felting and embroidery to jewelry making and wood carving, Kazakhstan’s artisans continue to hone the skills passed down through generations.
The Kazakhstan Artisan Initiative aims to increase Kazakh youth participation in craft practices, broaden the knowledge, skills, and revenue of artisan craft enterprises in Kazakhstan, and strengthen relationships between and among artisans in the United States and Kazakhstan.
“As the great Kazakh thinker Abai once said: ‘mastery of a craft is everlasting; it is no coincidence that artisans are revered by the people as saints,’” said Aizhan Bekkulova, president of the Union of Artisans. “That is why it is especially gratifying to support unique, talented individuals who carry the cultural code and our collaboration with the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage and Chevron enables us to carry out projects at the highest possible professional level. May the youth look up to the best!”
In May, the Smithsonian’s project team will travel to Kazakhstan to meet potential network partners, conduct site visits, and host an artisan panel discussion on youth participation in the craft community. Following the research trip, select Kazakh artisans will participate in a learning and exchange trip to Santa Fe, New Mexico, for the International Folk Art Market and to Tucson, Arizona, a “sister city” to Almaty, Kazakhstan’s largest city. The learning and exchange trip will also include an artisan enterprise skill-building workshop. In September, select Tucson-based artisans will have their own learning exchange trip to participate in the Almaty Craft Festival.
An impact assessment of this project will help shape the Center’s ongoing efforts in Kazakhstan and provide guidance for the Kazakhstan Cultural Heritage Fund as it expands to support tradition, innovation, and exchange.
About the Cultural Vitality Program
The Center’s Cultural Vitality Program bolsters community efforts to preserve and practice living cultural heritage in the face of social, economic, and political challenges. The program aims to understand and mitigate threats to cultural vitality, scale our impact through partnerships, convenings, and thought leadership, and transform public understanding of cultural diversity.
About the Union of Artisans
Established in April 2012, the Union of Artisans of Kazakhstan operates across seven regions of the country. With ninety-two member organizations and 650 artisan collaborations nationwide, its primary mission is to preserve and promote traditional arts. Essential to safeguarding intangible cultural heritage, the union strives to enhance artisans’ living standards, foster professional growth, and support the development of craft businesses and the creative industry in Kazakhstan. Their flagship project, “Revival, preservation, support, and development of traditional crafts in Kazakhstan,” receives sponsorship from Chevron, UNESCO, and the Ministry of Culture, Kazakhstan.
About Chevron
Chevron is one of the world’s leading integrated energy companies. The company believes affordable, reliable, and ever-cleaner energy is essential to enabling human progress. Chevron produces crude oil and natural gas; manufactures transportation fuels, lubricants, petrochemicals, and additives; and develops technologies that enhance the business and industry. It aims to grow its traditional oil and gas business, lower the carbon intensity of operations, and grow new lower carbon businesses in renewable fuels, hydrogen, carbon capture, offsets, and other emerging technologies.
