People often ask where I get my ideas for articles from, as if it’s some mysterious process known only to the initiated.
Usually it’s a question of reading everything relevant — in my case all the news, reports, social media and other material I can find about Central Asia — talking to people, keeping my eyes open around town, and spotting interesting events and trends.
And sometimes it’s a mysterious alchemy where you stumble across something that turns out to be part of a story. This was what happened with the article I wrote about Central Asian art in spring 2013.
In February my mother was visiting and we ventured out to see an art exhibition at the nearby Pyramid, or as it’s officially known, the Palace of Peace and Reconciliation. I say nearby, in sub -20C temperatures and with a driving blizzard it didn’t seem so close.
Out in the cold
When we eventually trudged through the snow to the main entrance, we thought we had got the wrong date. From outside, the building appeared to be in darkness and the cavernous ground floor was also dark and deserted. Almost deserted; we had missed the security guard standing in the shadows.
Expecting to be sent back out into the night, we were pleasantly surprised when he directed us to the lift, from where we emerged into the noise and light of a cocktail reception on the top floor.
Most of the pictures on display were by local artists (although the Pyramid also has a small permanent display with some international artists) and the buzz surrounding these was what gave me the idea to look more closely at Kazakh art.
From inspiration to words on page
Since I write for a business magazine, I looked at art as an investment .
Shortly afterwards, Sotheby’s announced an exhibition of artworks from Kazakhstan, Central Asia and the Caucasus. This confirmed I was onto something, and as well as talking to Sotheby’s I also interviewed several curators from local galleries.
More posts about writing
A trip to dodgy downtown Bucharest gave me this feature story inspiration
I wanted to write a travel blog before travel blogs existed
Where journalists get ideas for articles
Steppe in Style 
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