NEW PLACE IDENTITY AND GENTRIFICATION AFTER OIL. THE CASE OF THE YEMAA CENTER FOR CONTEMPORARY CULTURE IN ATYRAU CITY

Abstract

This review examines the case of the YEMAA Center for Contemporary Culture as an example of gentrification on the periphery of Atyrau, alongside the transformation that accompany it within a post oil and post Soviet context. The focus is on how gentrification processes influence the social and cultural shifts in the urbanic fabric, and how these changes contribute to the formation of a new palace identity. The article aims to contribute to the conceptual framework of urban studies in the regional cities of Kazakhstan by exploring the role of cultural institutions in shaping new centers of attraction on the periphery. The analysis is based on autoethnographic observations and visual sites of memory connected to the oil industry.

It highlights that YEMAA, located on the premises of a former bus station and now integrated into a private development project, has emerged as a new point of cultural gravity. The center has begun shaping a new cultural image of Atyrau, one that contrasts with its established image as an industrial city. The YEMAA case demonstrates hybrid forms of gentrification, combining cultural , infrastructural and commercial transformations of the place. This perspective allows for a rethinking of peripheral territories - not only as objects of development but as independent cultural centers. Thus, the article offers a localized view of cultural gentrification processes to broaden the understanding of urban dynamics in the post - industrial region of Kazakhstan.