I am proud and moved to share the long, complex and fascinating work our museum team put into preparing an exhibition of one of the most influential video artists of the twentieth century. Bill Viola: The Space of Time opened at Almaty Museum of Arts on July 1, and the project has attracted extraordinary attention.
I first met Kira Perov, head of the Bill Viola Studio, the artist’s wife and long-time partner, in 2020, while we were preparing Bill Viola: Journey of the Soul at the Pushkin Museum in Moscow. When she visited Almaty for the museum opening in September 2025, the permanent display included Viola’s work Stations, and we began discussing a dedicated exhibition.
Kira appreciated the newly opened museum and its capacity to present media art, and planning soon moved forward. By December the catalogue and exhibition plan were ready; installation began in mid-May. Such a project requires meticulous coordination across exhibition design, lighting, sound, technical systems and the visitor experience.
An illustrated catalogue was published in Kazakh, Russian and English, with scholarly essays, an interview with the artist and descriptions of the works on view. The opening programme also included fully attended lectures by international curators Kira Perov, cultural strategist and catalogue contributor Valentino Catricalà, and architect and curator Kulapat Yantrasast.
Exhibition information and tickets are available on the museum website. A selection of videos can also be found in the pinned stories of @almatymuseumofarts.
Source: Vladimir Opredelenov’s author archive. English translation of the Russian article.