Abstract

The panel focuses on contemporary processes of preservation and representation of cultural heritage and the development of museum practices in Kazakhstan. It examines the role of museum institutions and cultural projects in the context of intangible heritage, historical memory, and the formation of cultural identity. Particular attention is given to the challenges of interpreting new cultural and social realities and to the changes taking place in museum policy. These issues are explored through the history of local history museums and visitor centers and their role in shaping historical memory and developing excursion activities in Astana.

The development of regional museum practices is analyzed through the creation of new museum complexes in the Ulytau region, where contemporary cultural projects are closely connected with tourism development and the construction of regional identity. The panel also addresses different aspects of the “museumization” of national sports, in which traditional practices acquire new symbolic meanings and become included in the sphere of cultural heritage.

Through a museum-centered perspective, the panel discussion aims to consider broader processes of transformation in cultural policy and the institutionalization of heritage in contemporary Kazakhstan.