ABSTRACT
This chapter sets out to explore the question 'Can there be authenticity in tourist art?'. In Kyrgyzstan, there is a small growing industry in making tourist goods, based on the former Soviet institution, the beriozka or Intourist shop. Felt is a particularly popular medium which is being translated into use for tourist goods. This has been developed and supported by an influx of World Bank microfinance and aid agency funding. The history of tourist art in Kyrgyzstan has it's roots in the work of the folk art enthusiast Ryndin, who set up folk art factory-schools before the second world war in Kyrgyzstan. In terms of the maker, to a certain extent the making process will be different for a group of women making felt in Kyrgyzstan, or a bark painter as described in Howard Morphy's seminal article 'From Dull to Brilliant' or a surrealist sculptor or a late twentieth century British woodcarver.
