Thirteenth International Conference on The Arts in Society

Abstract

In this study I examine the role of visual arts in state formation and national identity building on the example of the post-Soviet Kazakhstan. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Kazakhstan faced the need of crafting state and national identity. Visual arts have played an important role in this process. I explore the importance of visual arts, that facilitate state and national identity building in autocracies. Focusing on Kazakhstan as a case study, I use content analysis to show that state favors and financially contributes to the artworks that support the regime, while it limits free artistic expression that poses a threat to it. I code the amount of the representation of national symbols, traditions, culture and history in the artworks in state- and privately-funded galleries, exhibitions and films to evaluate where pro-regime artworks prevail. I conduct interviews with artists in Kazakhstan to estimate the degree of the limitation of free artistic expression. My research adds to the knowledge of the importance of visual arts in the post-Soviet space, and can be extended to the analysis of other post-Soviet states that have experienced or in the process of the transition to democracy.