The painter Marat Bekeyev (born 1964 in Aktyubindk) has been a member of the Union of Artists of Kazakhstan since 1990. He studied at the Aktyubinsk College of Culture and Education from 1979 - 1983, then at the Belarus State Institute for Theater and Art from 1984 - 1990. He first gaines recognition in Minsk, Moscow and Berlin, then Aktyubinsk, and finally, after 1994 exhibition, in Almaty. Today he is known in both town and country. He received the Tarlan Award for the year 2006.