Didar Azat

Didar Azat is a museum researcher and curator based in Almaty. Born in China to a Kazakh family, she moved to Kazakhstan during her youth, an experience that continues to inform her interest in cultural exchange and transregional histories. She works at the Abylkhan Kasteyev National Museum of Arts, where she specializes in foreign art collections and museum research. Her practice focuses on exhibition development, collection research, and public engagement through educational and mediation programs.

Didar has curated and co-curated international exhibitions and initiated the museum’s first manga exhibition related to Central Asian culture. She also served as co-curator of the Central Asian section of the 4th Xinjiang Art Biennale in China. Alongside her curatorial work, she develops educational workshops and guided tours, contributing to new forms of museum mediation for diverse audiences

In 2025 she joined the Education and Mediation team of Manifesta 16 for pre-biennale research and the development of public programs. As part of her current residency, Didar is conducting research on the Central Asian collection of the Weltmuseum and contributing to the development of a focus project dedicated to Central Asia.

Didar studied Tourism Management at L. N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University in Astana. She works in Kazakh, Russian, English and Chinese.

During their residency at the Weltmuseum Wien, Didar Azat and Bibigul Kussainova will focus on research into the museum’s Central Asian collections, with particular attention to objects and materials connected to the cultural histories of Central Asia. Their work will explore how Central Asian heritage has been collected, documented, and interpreted within European museum contexts.

Drawing on their experience as museum researchers and curators at the Abylkhan Kasteyev National Museum of Arts in Almaty, they aim to contribute to the development of the museum’s focus project on Central Asia. Through collection study, archival research, and dialogue with curators and researchers, they will examine different perspectives on the presentation and interpretation of Central Asian art and material culture.

The residency will also provide an opportunity to reflect on museum practices and to strengthen professional exchange between institutions working with Central Asian collections.