Kazakhstan 2026

Title: Qoñyr: The archive of Silence
Commissioner: Aida Balayeva, Deputy Prime minister, Minister of Culture and Information of the Republic of Kazakhstan
Curator: Syrlybek Bekbota
Exhibitors: Ardak Mukanova, Assel Kadyrkhanova, ADYR‑ASPAN (Gulmaral Tattibayeva, Natalia Ligay), Anar Aubakir, Smail Bayaliyev, Nurbol Nurakhmet, Mansur Smagambetov, Oralbek Kaboke

Directly responding to the Biennale Arte 2026’s overall theme, In Minor Keys, the Kazakhstan Pavilion presents the exhibition “Qoñyr: The Archive of Silence” as a metaphorical framework: an invitation to listen to quieter voices, accumulated memories, and the profound meanings found in subtle, everyday experiences, particularly in a time of global instability.

The word Qoñyr is one of the key concepts in Kazakh cosmology. While its literal meaning refers to the colour brown, qoñyr carries a far richer metaphorical significance. It can describe a sonic register, the scent of earth, or a form of silence that never speaks aloud yet holds everything within it. Qoñyr is an attentiveness to minor vibrations—such as wind, breath, or a footstep—that renders audible what is usually obscured by noise.

The Pavilion is located within the Museo Storico Navale, near the Arsenale entrance. This marks Kazakhstan’s third participation in the International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia and represents a new milestone: it is the first time a Central Asian country has selected its pavilion curator and artists through an open call. The call was open to citizens of the Republic of Kazakhstan, with priority given to those currently living and working in the country.

The Pavilion takes inspiration from a traditional Kazakh instrumental composition, Qoñyr (küy), by the twentieth-century Kazakh composer Äbiken Khasenov. As noted by Kazakh cultural theorist Zira Nauryzbay, Kazakh music before the twentieth century was predominantly composed in major keys, while the twentieth century saw a distinctive shift towards minor tonalities. This musical transformation closely reflects Kazakhstan’s turbulent modern history, marked by the Russian imperial period, the 1916 national liberation uprising, famine, Soviet repression, and the disruption of a centuries-old nomadic way of life through modernisation. These profound socio-cultural shocks left a deep imprint on musical expression in Kazakhstan, with the move from major to minor keys becoming a sonic trace of historical trauma. In this context, qoñyr functions as a metaphor for historical memory itself, carried through sound—it becomes a cultural lens through which listeners can engage with trauma.

Together, the works in “Qoñyr: The Archive of Silence” form a pavilion that invites visitors to slow down and listen. Through sound, material, and space, the exhibition offers a reflection on collective memory, history, and resilience, encouraging a deeper, more attentive way of experiencing both the Pavilion and the world beyond it.