Art East is a non-governmental, non-profit organization established by Kyrgyzstan freelance artists (Gulnara Kasamalieva and Muratbek Djoumaliev) in 2002. The principle of the organization is based on free membership. Art East was established to address the lack of quality education and infrastructure in the visual arts which occurred in the decade after the fall of the Soviet system. Through its activities it wants to create possibilities for a new generation of artists and create a public for contemporary art. The general mission of the organization is to strengthen the role of contemporary arts as the integral constituent of a harmonious development of civil society in Kyrgyzstan and to support artists to be able to create artworks that are free of ideological and commercial pressure.
In the last two years Art East has established itself as a constant meeting point where artists can come to work, discuss and use the media-lab and documentation facilities. Besides functioning as a meeting point it has a constant activity program of 1. national and international exhibitions and 2. educational lectures and workshops for artists and art historians on contemporary art.
Gertrude
Nicole