Aigine CRC has begun implementing the project “New Expressions and Shapes of Ancient Kyrgyz Songs.” This initiative will help creative young people hear and feel the strength of our ancestral song heritage anew. The project brings together two strands of work. The first is collaboration with the youth choir “Barchyn Capella.” Together with experts in traditional music and the choir’s director Gulbarchyn Zhakshylykova, we will develop a selection of traditional Kyrgyz songs and adapt them for choral performance. We hope that regular rehearsals, exploring the meanings and imagery of the songs, and deep engagement with genres and performance approaches will make these age-old songs a living part of today’s young performers’ experience. The second strand is a creative competition that invites young artists—filmmakers, animators, visual artists, and dancers—to interpret traditional songs through visual and performing arts. We want the traditional lyrics and melodies to resonate and “speak” in the language of contemporary media—through video, animation, and performance. This initiative will be an important step in rethinking and rediscovering Kyrgyz traditional song culture. A great deal of work lies ahead, culminating in a public concert for audiences, and we will continue to share updates on the project and the stories of its participants.

Aigine Cultural Research Center team has also begun implementing the project “Immersive Exhibition of Central Asian Rock Art.” The initiative aims to present petroglyphs both as ancient archaeological objects and as living cultural traditions shaped by community knowledge and memory. The exhibition storyline will be built on materials collected through the project “Safeguarding Traditional Art through the Creation of a Unified Interactive Platform of Central Asian Petroglyphs.” These authentic research materials and interpretations will directly inform the script and help shape one shared narrative that highlights cultural connections across the region through common symbols, styles, and meanings of petroglyphs. A dedicated working group will bring together archaeologists, ethnographers, community elders and knowledge holders, local experts, artists, and scriptwriters. The exhibition is planned to include videos, animations, soundscapes, traditional music, and interviews, placing scientific perspectives (dating, style, location) and traditional perspectives (oral stories and cultural meanings) on equal terms. The project will culminate in a public immersive exhibition in Bishkek, and we will continue to share updates and the stories of its participants.