Said Atabekov was born in 1965 in Bes-Terek, Uzbekistan. He lives and works in Shymkent, Kazakhstan.
Notable exhibitions of the artist include Suns and Neons above Kazakhstan, Yarat, Baku (2017), The Other & Me, Sharjah Art Museum (2014), the 5th Moscow Biennale (2013), the Central Asian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale (2011, 2007, 2005), Ostalgia, New Museum, New York (2011), Time of the Storytellers, KIASMA, Helsinki (2007), and the 9th Istanbul Biennale (2005).