When asked by the Embassy of Kazakhstan to contribute an article about the Smithsonian's partnerships with Kazakhstan (and especially our recent exhibition and publication with the Kasteyev Museum in Almaty), for this recently established online publication series for the Abai Center, I quickly agreed. Our Smithsonian research team has long been active and interested in Kazakhstan, so we are among the many Washington-area beneficiaries of this exciting new initiative at The George Washington University's Institute for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies (IERES), the Abai Center. The Smithsonian's Asian Cultural History Program (ACHP), within its department of Anthropology (National Museum of Natural History), has a long history of partnerships that have grown out of an original, long-ago-expired formal agreement between the Museum of Natural History (Smithsonian) and the Kasteyev State Museum of Art in Almaty, Kazakhstan. That agreement was set up in 2006, expiring two years later, within the framework of a temporary program within the American Association of Museums (AAM), funded by the Department of State, known as the "International Partnership Among Museums" or IPAM program. "IPAM" was essentially a small grant program offering seed funds for two museums, one American and one overseas, to develop some shared goals then carry out exchange visits between them, during which they could also explore potential collaborations. Though that official program ended long ago, its good effects continue to resonate and to result in joint activities up to the present. Here I begin by describing the most recent joint activity, then return to origins of the partnership in 2006 and review some subsequent developments.
