This building is an important landmark in the cultural history of Shymkent.
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This building is an important landmark in the cultural history of Shymkent. It was constructed in the 1970s as the Kazakhstan cinema and served for decades as a center of cultural life for the city’s residents. In 2014–2015, it underwent major renovations and was transferred to the Shymkent City Branch of the Assembly of the People of Kazakhstan. On 27 April 2017, during a working visit to Shymkent, the First President of Kazakhstan, N. Nazarbayev, personally attended the official opening ceremony of the renovated Dostyk House. In front of the building stands the “A Thousand Thanks to the Kazakh People” monument. This was installed at the initiative of local ethnic communities to express gratitude to the Kazakh people—the state-forming nation—for their hospitality and support during the years of war and deportation when other ethnic groups were forcibly resettled onto Kazakh soil.
The building has four floors with a total area of 4,454 square meters. It houses offices and working spaces for ethnocultural associations. A modern material and technical infrastructure has been created to ensure the effective operation of the Assembly: an 800-seat large concert hall, studios, preparation and dressing rooms.
Currently, the lower floor of the building includes a choreography hall for ethnic dance groups, a choir room, an amateur arts space, and classrooms for a language school. This center provides opportunities to preserve and develop the languages, cultures, traditions, and customs of various ethnic groups and serves as an important venue for strengthening interethnic harmony and unity.
