East Kazakhstan regional museum of art is opened on 1 July 1990. It is situated in the building which was the architectural monument of the late nineteenth century. Initially, there were 90 paintings and drawings in the core of the collection, transferred from the regional ethnographic museum by the decision of the State Committee for Culture of the Kazakh SSR. Later, in 1991, there were donated 1000 paintings and drawings of the east Kazakhstan artist, a member of the Union of the artists of USSR, Ageykin Leonid Evtikhievich.
There are 8358 depositary items in the museum's exposition, of which: the main fund – 5238 exhibits; the scientific-subsidiary – 3120 depositary items. The best works of the collection of the museum are on permanent standing exhibition of the “Artists of Kazakhstan". Here are presented the most valuable paintings and drawings of: Yerkin Mergenov's sculpture, the painting of Gulfayruz Ismailova, Amandos Akanayev, Shaimerden Sariev, Abdurashid Sydykhanov, Sakhi Romanov, the drawings of Yevgeniy Sidorkin, Fatima Moldabayeva, and Eduard Chubuk. The worthy places among the painters of Kazakhstan are taken by the East Kazakhstan artists: such as Victor Titov, Marat Zhunusov, Leonid Ageykin, Valeriy Rapoport, Nikolay Ashtema, Gabdulmadi Merkasimov, Kaysan Kadyrbekov, Marat Smaylov, Bulat Ysyn, Victor Shmidt.
On permanent standing exhibition “Echo of the Earth" is presented Kazakh musical instruments, which are typical for the East Kazakhstan. The best work of the fund “Literature" is represented in the permanent standing exhibition “The history of the country's literature".
The fund of the museum is refilled on regular basis. In 2011 there were purchased fiction “Vesna.Nevesta" (“Spring.Fiancee") of Talgat Tatiev, member of the Artists Union of the Republic of Kazakhstan, picture “V stepyakh Baikonura" (“In the steppes of Baykonur") of Uke Azhyiev, honoured art worker of the republic of Kazakhstan, Kazakh national musical instruments dombra, dauilpaz, dabyl, sibizgi, zhetigen, kilkobiz, sazgen. The museum also organizes the expeditionos to various parts of the regions to find interesting and still unknown works of the artists, national masters, poets, writers, composers of East Kazakhstan as well as biographic, bibliographic and other informative materials.
Within cultural work of the museum regional exhibition contests of children creative work are carried out during 13 years with participation of artistically skilled children of eat Kazakhstan. A poetic contest named “Svobodnoi muzi prinosshenye" (“Oblation of free muse") are held in the last 6 years. Since 2010 the museum hosts traditional exhibition-contest “Menin Kazakhstanim" (“My Kazakhstan") with participation of local professional artists. The contest allows artists of east Kazakhstan to match their professional achievements with those in the capital city, to hear judgements of state art critics. Exhibition hall “Khudozhestvennyi salon" (“Art salon") operates in the museum where citizens of guests of the city can get acquainted with works of regional artists and masters of arts and crafts as well as buy on of them.