Gapar Aitiev National Museum of Fine Arts
Гапар Айтиев атындагы Кыргыз улуттук сүрөт музейи
A national museum whose collection includes Kyrgyz felt, embroidery and Soviet-era paintings, with the mosaic decoration on its exterior walls a highlight in itself.
The National Museum of Fine Arts is named after Gapar Aitiev, a founder of modern Kyrgyz painting. The current building dates from the 1970s, and its exterior walls and colonnades are decorated with Soviet-style mosaics and reliefs. The collection numbers more than 10,000 works. Its highlights are Kyrgyz traditional crafts: brightly colored felt carpets (shyrdak, ala-kiyiz), embroidered wall hangings, horse tack and silverwork. The paintings are mainly works by Soviet-era Kyrgyz artists depicting the Tian Shan mountains, herders and collective farms, and the museum also displays originals by Russian painters and reproductions of European classics. Admission is a few hundred som; check on site for the current price. Getting there: across from the opera house, about a 10-minute walk from Ala-Too Square. Note: The museum is usually closed on Mondays, and some galleries charge an extra fee for photography.
Opening hours
Approx. 10:00–18:00; closed Mondays; check on site
Nearby sights
- Kyrgyz National Opera and Ballet Theatre
- Oak Park
- Victory Square
- Frunze House Museum
- State Historical Museum
- Ala-Too Square
- Erkindik Boulevard
- White House