Corespondent: Akzer SEGIZBAY
QAZAQ TV
Young Kazakh designer Anar Seitzhan built up a collection of ancient carpets with bright ornaments and unique play of colors. The idea of such an unusual exhibition came to her after she read a famous work of a historian-ethnographer Lev Gumilyov “Discovering Khazar”. Anar Seitzhan decided to use the time of quarantine productively. She collected rare exhibits and organized the exhibition in Kostanai regional museum of local history “Bastau”.
“During the pandemic, once we got closed for the lockdown, I wondered what do we have? Choosing several such carpets, I decided to buy the first one from Kyzylorda region. It probably all started with it. It was the most beautiful sample that I first saw live and then bought. This is how my collection started. What else is noteworthy is that I purchased all these carpets either from the craftswomen themselves, or from their grandchildren and children. Therefore, it seems to me momentous that these items were considered the value for the family,” said Anar Seitzhan, a designer, exhibition organizer.
The designer now has 18 ancient carpets in her collection from different parts of Kazakhstan, as well as specially delivered from Western Mongolia. 15 of them decorated the exhibition in Kostanai. The oldest exhibit refers to the forties of the last century.
“The exhibition opened and started to work during Nauryz holiday celebrations. Visitors came to us these days and were pleased to see the exhibition, because it sounded relevant and now it does not lose its relevance. They were interested in the past, in their roots and roots of other nations, how they lived. I mean, not only Kazakh people, but also others who are living in our country. Visitors showed great interest and I think in my opinion the exhibition was quite unique,” said Saya Kalinova, chief of staff, Kostanai Regional Museum of Local History.
According to Anar Seitzhan, the exhibition that started in Kostanai will be continued in other regions of Kazakhstan.