About
Established in January 2022, Ainalaiyn Space is a nomadic contemporary arts organisation based in London.
Ainalaiyn Space is a space devoted to creative minds; a place where they can realise their dreams and ideas. Learning, Research, and Experimentation are essential parts of the project which will remain constantly present. We work with international artists and curators from all over the world, providing an equal opportunity to everyone, especially to those regions that do not have a major presence in Europe.
We see this space as an alchemist laboratory where all required, individual elements will come together to create one whole.
The team of Ainalaiyn Space is particularly interested in working on a diverse range of projects which show art from an interdisciplinary perspective, covering science, architecture, literature, and other areas.
This project has a nomadic life, with a permanent presence on the World Wide Web, but we may get a physical space if there is a need for one.
Ainalaiyn Space collaborates with institutions in the UK and in other parts of the world, especially for its artist residency projects.
This is an experimental model where we try to combine both commercial and non commercial projects, this status will help us to sustain our independence in the choice of themes to cover and people to collaborate with. We hope that this will support us in the realisation of ambitious projects that are as interesting and as diverse as possible.
About our name and symbol
Ainalaiyn is the Kazakh word that nowadays is used by adults towards their children, especially by women (mothers and grandmothers). The meaning of the word is hard to translate, and this is an ongoing issue with translation in general.
Ainalaiyn is the word that expresses admiration and adoration for the whole being of a loved one. It is usually used in the phrase ainalaiyn turinensol, where turinensol describes the whole being.
Ainalaiyn originates from the pre-Islamic period, of Tengrism, the religion that was practiced by nomads in the region of Central Asian steppes. The word Ainalaiyn,which is nowadays used as a descriptive tender word, was used to describe a process, a ritual to be exact.
It was a ritual of connecting with gods and deities through a sacrifice, or rather sending a messenger; or the act of self-devotion for the cure of the loved one. An example would be a mother who would circle around the body of the child to take away its illness, or a shaman walking around the yurt of an ill person to free them.
We found the symbol for the project, the spiral, first and so, the name was found according to the meaning of this symbol. The spiral is present in the structure of everything around us, including human bodies.
Whether it is a Golden Mean logarithmic spiral of Nautilus pompilius, the growth patterns of many plants, or the umbilical cord, for Ainalaiyn Space, the meaning of spiral is equated to creation, birth, rebirth or simply the beginning.
Ainalaiyn is the space of devotion and the search for the pure truth of being.
About our founder
Indira Dyussebayeva-Ziyabek is an independent curator and the co-founder of International Art Development Association (IADA), a non-profit organisation supporting and promoting contemporary art from Kazakhstan and Central Asia. She founded Ainalaiyn Space in January 2022.
Indira holds an undergraduate degree and MA in History of Art from University College London (UCL). Her academic research explores themes including memory and psychoanalytic theory; cultural trauma; the maternal body; and the corporeal metaphorics of nomadic dwellings. These research questions are discussed in dialogue with contemporary art practices.
Indira has curated and co-curated numerous international projects, including one of the projects of the National Museum, Focus Kazakhstan: Post-nomadic Mind at Wapping Hydraulic Power Station in London 2018; the private pavilion of Kazakhstan, ONE STEP/PE FORWARD that was held during 55th Venice biennale; and the first international exhibition The Other Side of Midnight at the National Museum of the Republic of Kazakhstan - a solo show of British-Israeli artist, Zadok Ben-David.
