American Center for Contemporary Arts opened in Almaty

ASTANA. May 10. KAZINFORM On May 5, U.S. Ambassador Kenneth Fairfax officially inaugurated the American Center for Contemporary Arts with a concert of American music featuring works by Barber, Gershwin, and other American composers.  

The Center -- the first of its kind in Central Asia -- was established with a $35,000 grant from the U.S. Government.  Located at the National Conservatory, it will serve a gateway to the artistic, cultural, music life of the United States for young people, faculty members, specialists in cultural fields and the general public.  In addition to housing a large collection of over 400 musical scores, recordings and videos of works by American composers, the Center will provide the latest audio and video equipment, along with computers and software for composing, all of which will be accessible to the general public, the US Diplomatic Mission to Kazakhstan reports.  

The American Center for Contemporary Arts will be a focal point for educational activities, such as workshops with visiting American cultural envoys and speakers as well as concerts of American music performed by American and Kazakhstani artists and musicians.  In jointly-sponsoring the American Center for Contemporary Arts, the U.S. Embassy and the Conservatory hope to draw on the dynamic artistic heritages of both Kazakhstan and the United States to stimulate innovative ideas, experiment and creativity in the arts.