Assel Sabyrzhankyzy, born March 7, 1994, is a Kazakh visual artist and content creator best known for her striking paintings on traditional carpets.
She goes by the artist name Assol and has built a massive following across social media with her vivid portraits of historical Kazakh figures.
Her work has earned her recognition from Kazakhstan’s president and a place on TikTok’s global Discover List for 2026.
Who is Assel Sabyrzhankyzy?
Assel Sabyrzhankyzy is one of Kazakhstan’s most celebrated contemporary artists. She combines traditional Kazakh carpet culture with modern graffiti and brush techniques to create a style she calls KilemArt.
Her portraits bring to life the royals, warriors, writers, and leaders of the Turkic world. Her art is not just beautiful. It is also deeply purposeful.
Assel’s primary mission, as she has stated in multiple interviews, is to promote creativity and Kazakh history among young people. She has created over 1,000 works and continues to push the boundaries of what Kazakh art can look like.
Her pieces have been exhibited across Kazakhstan and internationally, with showings in Berlin, Paris, and most recently at the Baku International Carpet Festival 2026 in Azerbaijan.
She is widely known online under the handle @assolyaa, where her time-lapse videos of completed portraits regularly draw millions of views.
A single video of her Abai portrait, made entirely from the words of the poet’s famous song, received around 700,000 views on TikTok alone. That kind of reach has turned her art into a cultural movement.
Early Life of Assel Sabyrzhankyzy
Assel Sabyrzhankyzy was born and raised in Almaty, Kazakhstan. Her love for drawing started before she even entered school. Teachers noticed her attention to detail as early as kindergarten, and by the age of five, she was already copying cartoon characters from memory.
Her family’s home was filled with carpets, ornaments, and stories rooted in Kazakh tradition. Those early surroundings would later become the foundation of her artistic identity.
As a teenager, she entered an international art competition organized by Ernst & Young. She won both the Grand Prix and first prize, and two of her paintings were sent to London. The recognition came with a $1,000 prize and, more importantly, a deep sense of confidence in her future as an artist.
Assel Sabyrzhankyzy Age
Assel Sabyrzhankyzy is 32 years old as of 2026, born on March 7, 1994. She remains one of the most active and prolific artists in Kazakhstan today.
Assel Sabyrzhankyzy Ethnicity and Nationality
Assel is Kazakh by ethnicity and holds Kazakhstani nationality. Her work is deeply rooted in Kazakh and broader Turkic cultural heritage, which forms the central theme of her art.
Assel Sabyrzhankyzy Education
Assel’s formal training in art spans over fourteen years and includes some of Kazakhstan’s most respected institutions. She graduated from an art school in Astana in 2009.
She then completed her college studies at the College of the Kazakh National University of Arts in Astana in 2013, majoring in easel painting. Her academic journey did not stop there.
She went on to earn her bachelor’s degree from the Kazakh National University of Arts in 2019, again in easel painting. In 2021, she completed a scientific-pedagogical master’s degree at the T. Zhurgenov Kazakh National Academy of Arts in Almaty.
Her master’s thesis focused on the depiction of historical figures in contemporary Kazakhstani portrait painting. That academic grounding gives her work an intellectual depth that sets it apart from typical social media art.
Assel Sabyrzhankyzy Career
Finding Her Medium
Assel began her professional art journey long before social media. Over the course of her training, she experimented with many surfaces — T-shirts, wooden planks, balls, and even a dombra, the traditional Kazakh string instrument.
Each experiment taught her something new about texture and form. The breakthrough came one day when she asked her husband to buy a carpet.
She painted the image of Kok Bori, the legendary mother wolf of the Turkic peoples, directly onto the carpet’s surface. As soon as the brush hit the pile, she knew she had found her medium.
That first carpet painting became the origin of KilemArt, a style that would eventually make her one of Kazakhstan’s most recognized artists.
Going Viral on TikTok
In 2021, Assel began posting sped-up videos of her work on TikTok and Instagram. Her early posts featuring simultaneous portraits of the three legendary Kazakh sages — Tole Bi, Kazbek Bi, and Aiteke Bi — gained her first wave of viral attention.
A follow-up portrait of Kenesary Khan, built entirely from tiny stick figures symbolizing national unity, generated headlines across Kazakh media. Her art process quickly became as compelling as the finished product.
She later created a portrait of poet Abai using the words of his famous song “Kozimnin Karasy” as the visual texture of the image.
That video gathered approximately 700,000 views and more than 85,000 likes on TikTok. The response confirmed for Assel what she had hoped: visual art could be a powerful tool for cultural education.
Presidential Recognition and International Reach
Assel’s work has been recognized at the highest levels within Kazakhstan. She received a certificate of honor and a personal letter of thanks from President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev for her contribution to the promotion of Kazakhstani art at home and abroad.
In November 2024, she was invited to create a live painting during Russian President Vladimir Putin’s state visit to Astana.
Both heads of state added brushstrokes to her work, titled “Friendship Bridge,” before it was gifted to the visiting president. That moment underscored the reach her art had achieved.
Her works have since been shown internationally, with exhibitions in Berlin and Paris in addition to her Astana solo shows.
In 2025, Euronews featured her as one of the Kazakh artists reviving tradition through contemporary art. In 2026, she participated in the Baku International Carpet Festival and was named among TikTok’s Top 50 global creators on the platform’s annual Discover List.
KilemArt and Her Artistic Vision
The KilemArt style has specific technical demands that most artists would find daunting. Assel visits 20 to 25 carpet stores to find a single piece whose pattern and color align with her planned composition.
She uses graffiti techniques and paintbrushes on Iranian, Turkish, and Persian carpets, all of which must have a short pile to hold paint precisely. There is no room for error on a carpet.
One wrong stroke is permanent. Despite this pressure, Assel has reportedly never ruined a carpet. Her 2023 solo exhibition “Qazaq Content” at the Forte Kulanshi Art Space in Astana featured 15 carpet paintings devoted to the women of Turkic history.
The opening drew more than 500 guests and attracted widespread coverage from Kazakh national media and TV channels.
Her Notable Works
- “Blue Wolf” (2023) — carpet, mixed technique; her first KilemArt piece depicting the legendary Turkic mother wolf
- “Sakas Queen” (2023) — carpet portrait based on the archaeological Altyn Adam imagery
- “Gaukhar Batyr” (2023) — tribute to a historical Kazakh female warrior
- “Kurmanzhan” (2023) — portrait of the revered Kyrgyz leader Kurmanzhan Datka
- “Friendship Bridge” (2024) — live-painted canvas presented to President Putin during his Kazakhstan state visit
- Abai portrait (2022) — made using calligraphic words from the poet’s song, went viral with 700,000 TikTok views
Assel Sabyrzhankyzy Awards and Recognition
- Grand Prix and First Prize, Ernst & Young International Art Competition (teenage years)
- Certificate of Honor from President Tokayev for contribution to art in Kazakhstan and abroad
- Personal letter of gratitude from President Tokayev
- Named to TikTok’s global Discover List 2026 (Top 50 global creators)
- Featured by Euronews as one of Kazakhstan’s leading artists reviving tradition through contemporary art (2025)
- Participated in Baku International Carpet Festival 2026
Assel Sabyrzhankyzy Husband
She is married. Her husband is mentioned in her interviews, most notably in The Astana Times, where she recalled asking him to purchase the first carpet she ever painted on.
However, his name has not been confirmed in any publicly available source. Accordingly, his identity is not stated here.
The couple’s relationship appears to be a grounding part of her creative life. Her husband’s early support of her KilemArt experiment made that pivotal first carpet painting possible.
Assel Sabyrzhankyzy Net Worth
Assel Sabyrzhankyzy’s exact net worth has not been publicly disclosed. However, she is an established professional artist whose paintings are sold internationally. Each commissioned carpet painting is priced at approximately $2,500 to $3,000 or more, according to her official website at assolyaa.kz.
She also earns income through her art studio, her teaching program at @assolyaa_studio, brand partnerships, and content creator revenue across her social platforms.
Her works have also been exhibited and sold in Azerbaijan, Germany, and France. As her international profile continues to grow following her inclusion in TikTok’s Discover List 2026, her earning potential continues to expand significantly.
Assel Sabyrzhankyzy Social Media
Assel is most active on Instagram under the handle @assolyaa, where she has more than 279,000 followers and nearly 500 posts.
She also has more than 360,000 followers on TikTok, where her time-lapse painting videos have cumulatively reached millions of views. Her social media presence is central to her mission.
She uses both platforms not just to showcase finished works but to educate viewers about Kazakh history and Turkic culture.
Individual videos have reached five to seven million views. In 2026, TikTok officially recognized her as one of the top 50 creators in the world through its annual Discover List.
Related Posts:
- Yasmeen Alshafai Biography
- Taneth Gimenez Husband
- Who Is Lamine Yamal Girlfriend, Inés García?
- Flavy Barla Boyfriend
- Gorlock The Destroyer Real Name
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Assel Sabyrzhankyzy known for?
Assel Sabyrzhankyzy is known for painting portraits of Kazakh and Turkic historical figures on traditional carpets, a style she calls KilemArt, and for her viral art videos on TikTok.
How old is Assel Sabyrzhankyzy?
Assel Sabyrzhankyzy is 32 years old as of 2026, born on March 7, 1994, in Almaty, Kazakhstan.
What is Assel Sabyrzhankyzy’s artist name?
She goes by the artist name Assol and is known online as @assolyaa on both TikTok and Instagram.
Where did Assel Sabyrzhankyzy study?
She studied at the Kazakh National University of Arts in Astana and completed her master’s degree at the T. Zhurgenov Kazakh National Academy of Arts in Almaty in 2021.
Is Assel Sabyrzhankyzy married?
Yes, Assel Sabyrzhankyzy is married. Her husband’s name has not been publicly confirmed in reliable sources.
What is Assel Sabyrzhankyzy’s net worth?
Assel Sabyrzhankyzy’s exact net worth has not been publicly disclosed. Her carpet paintings are priced from approximately $2,500 per commission, and she earns additional income through teaching and content creation.
What is KilemArt?
KilemArt is Assel Sabyrzhankyzy’s signature art style, in which she paints portraits using graffiti and brush techniques directly onto traditional Kazakh and Persian carpets.
Has Assel Sabyrzhankyzy received any awards?
Yes. She has received a Certificate of Honor and a personal letter of thanks from Kazakhstan’s President Tokayev. She was also named to TikTok’s global Discover List in 2026 as one of the top 50 creators worldwide.
The Bottom Line
Assel Sabyrzhankyzy is a trailblazing Kazakh artist who transformed a traditional household object into a canvas for national identity and historical memory.
Through KilemArt, her viral TikTok presence, and her internationally exhibited works, she has become one of the most recognizable creative voices in Central Asia.
We hope you enjoyed reading about Assel Sabyrzhankyzy. Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below!