Şap! Institute
Education-focused international contemporary art institution based in Almaty, Kazakhstan.
info@sapinstitute.org
TEAM
Korean/Kazakh curator and researcher from Almaty, whose practice primarily focuses on sonic arts that engage with geopolitical and socio-political contexts. Having studied how aesthetics shape experience and collective memory in cases of toppling and removing colonial monuments in contemporary Kazakhstan, she now works with hearing and listening as embodied practices, paying close attention to how sound affects bodies exposed to various coercive conditions: from concrete violence to dispossession, land loss, and forced migration. Reflecting on her own diasporic experience, physically removed from these at times excruciating contexts, Madina uses this distance to explore how sound can also carry resilience and hope. Madina holds an MA in Contemporary Art Theory from Goldsmiths, University of London and currently works as an independent curator and cultural producer in Almaty, Kazakhstan.
Arts and cultural projects professional with 8+ years of experience across contemporary art institutions, international exhibitions, and cultural projects. Served as Director of Aspan Gallery from 2019 to 2025, producing and coordinating 30+ exhibitions of Central Asian contemporary art and overseeing international loans, artwork logistics, exhibition production, and institutional partnerships. Experience includes coordinating the first official Kazakhstan Pavilion at the 59th Venice Biennale, working across artists, curators, and international institutions; coordinating the donation of 22 works by 13 Central Asian artists to the permanent collection of the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam; and facilitating institutional collaboration leading to the acquisition of works by Yelena and Viktor Vorobyev by Centre Pompidou, Paris. Experienced in managing complex art projects from planning and production through installation, logistics, and delivery across museums, galleries, and private collections.
Film curator, researcher, and cultural producer from Kazakhstan, based between Almaty and Berlin. From 2023 to 2026, he developed the film program for the opening of Tselinny Center of Contemporary Culture in Almaty, working across curation, production, research, and partnerships. In his practice, he focuses on experimental cinema, contemporary auteur theory, and new ways of experiencing cinema—not only as an art form, but as a process. As a selector, producer, and curator, he has collaborated with film festivals and cultural initiatives including MIEFF, Qyzqaras, NOMSIZ, Spot, and Alternativa. In 2024–2025, he served as the commissioning editor of Horizon, an online multilingual anthology initiated by Tselinny.
Founder of Şap Institute. From 2018 to 2026, she served as Director of Tselinny Center of Contemporary Culture, where she led the institution’s development from its founding phase through the transformation of the Tselinny cinema by architect Asif Khan. Under her leadership, Tselinny developed a program spanning contemporary art, education, research, publishing, and public engagement, presenting more than 300 events. She established Tselinny Publishing, the Horizon research platform, a scholar-in-residence programme, and the institution’s library and archive. Previously, as project director, she developed the program of the Astana Contemporary Art Center for EXPO 2017. Her practice focuses on building sustainable cultural infrastructure across Central Asia through residencies, research, commissions, publications, institutional partnerships, and long-term support for artists and independent initiatives, as well as regional knowledge production and exchange.
Last Updated 26.10.06
A vehicle for experimenting with alternative education models, Şap! supports artists and thinkers at different stages of their practices, creating opportunities for research and facilitating meaningful exchange between local and international communities. The Institute seeks to preserve and activate regional artistic histories while enabling new forms of cultural production to develop.
PROGRAM
Şap! develops interdisciplinary programs at the intersection of theory and practice in art, art criticism, and curation. Partnering with like-minded individuals and organizations (e.g., universities, foundations), the Institute creates new pathways for cultural practitioners while contributing to the development of a robust professional ecosystem in the region.
As part of the residency, all the participants shall have access to dedicated studios where they can work with the likes of textiles, ceramics, metal, and wood, as well as a lab equipped with professional technical resources covering all areas of audiovisual and digital production. These facilities are to be made accessible, so that guests and locals alike can use them while nurturing relations with one another.