Abilkhan Kasteev State Art Museum — Attraction in Almaty

I was really looking forward to visiting this museum, but unfortunately, my experience was quite frustrating. The entrance fee for foreign tourists was 5,000₸, which is ten times higher than the local rate of 500₸. I understand that some countries apply differential pricing, but this kind of extreme markup felt unfair and exploitative especially since the foreigner pricing was only displayed at the ticket booth, not online. I had done research in advance and wasn’t aware of this huge price gap, which felt intentionally hidden. To make matters worse, the conditions inside were unacceptable. There was no AC even though it was 38°C outside, and the indoor environment was stifling. I was sweating so much that my back was completely soaked. The staff members were using brochures to fan themselves, clearly also struggling with the heat. On top of that, many of the exhibit rooms were dark, with no lights turned on, so I had to rely on faint sunlight through nearby windows to even see the artworks.

The exhibition itself was also disappointingly small. And due to the poor lighting and oppressive heat, I couldn’t even appreciate the pieces that were on display. It made me question what exactly I paid 5,000₸ for.

While I still love Kazakhstan and had many wonderful experiences here, this visit left a bad impression. It felt like foreign visitors were being treated as easy targets for inflated fees, without being offered the basic comfort or quality that should come with the price. I even saw other tourists at the ticket booth turn away once they saw the pricing.

I rarely leave negative reviews, but in this case, I feel compelled to say: not recommended. I have photos and videos that show exactly what I described; the heat, the darkness. I truly hope the museum reconsiders its pricing and facilities for the sake of future visitors.

P.S. they did start to turn on the lights(ridiculous to even mention) when I was leaving. English not provided or provided minimal which I think its close to nothing. So english reliant tourists, dont waste your money...

"Полифония барокко" was supposed to be a museum visit with a coffee break and a concert but turned out to be a boring and poorly organized event. Discussing the art is allowed only by whispering. At 6 oclock most halls closed, coffee was not coming yet (the workers were having tea with cookies and the visitors were trapped in a hall with chairs doing nothing and being bored. In 30 minutes everyone was invited to go to the table with cups and a few little plates with cookies. There were way too many people for the size of the table and it was a bit embarassing to try to get to the table. We value our time more than the workers of the museum value the time of the visitors, so we left instead of waiting for the concert for another 30 minutes. I would say it was money wasted. Whoever organizes such events in that museum needs to once see how such events go in the USA or somewhere in Europe to understand how sad this one looked in comparison or even without comparing...

In all honesty a rather disappointing experience - the building itself is very uninspiring and seems like an office building more than an exhibition space. Some of the floors are creaky. The artworks had no proper lighting, or they did but the spotlights weren't turned on (due to the lack of visitors perhaps?). There were random furniture like sofas and drawers. Some of the contemporary art were poorly maintained - the prints had peeling edges.

Most importantly though - there wasn't a distinct curatorial thread, it seemed like they just had a lot of art lying around and decided to hang them all. There was some contextual information in english but really inadequate - I found it a huge pity as I really liked a couple of works and would have loved to know more about the artist, style, and history behind it.

Admission (to the permanent exhibitions) costs 500 tenge...