Georgian Museum of Fine Arts Celebrates the 1st Anniversary

On October 2, the Georgian Museum of Fine Arts, located in the very heart of the Georgian capital and bringing together nearly 3,500 outstanding works of Georgian painters, hosted a number of guests on the occasion of the 1st anniversary since the launch of the venue. At the celebration, the Georgian Museum of Fine Arts launched a genuinely unique and eclectic artistic universe and, most importantly, established a sort of a ‘bridge’ between the epochs, ensuring communication between the previous century and the contemporary world and providing a source for various movements of native art.

The thoughts and visions of the modern generation were presented in an exhibition named ‘Counterpoint’, which displayed the paintings of Nina Akhobadze, Ninuka Sakandelidze, Nino Zirakashvili, Maia Baratashvili and Merab Gugunashvili, curated by Konstantin Bolkvadze. The contribution of the said artists to the development and diversification of Georgian art, through launching such unorthodox, conceptual exhibitions, is certainly worth spotlighting. The name of the exposition is also very symbolic as the word ‘Counterpoint’ means the harmonic conjunction of different melodies. Thus, the aim of the organizers of the event, aspiring to launch a ‘dialogue’ between the generations, was stressed in the very title of the show. The outstanding exhibition will be open until October 10.

The attendees were also welcomed with a concert from the chamber orchestra, boasting a Georgian repertoire and seeing the most distinguished young performers, including David Aladashvili, Natalia Kutateladze, the Kancheli String Quartet, as well as Irakli Evstapishvili taking to the stage. In addition, the guests had an opportunity to travel to Old Tbilisi and the picturesque 19th century hotel ‘Oriant’, whose building the current museum now occupies, through the photo collection of prominent photographer Yermakov.

GEORGIA TODAY sat down with Ninia Akhvlediani, Communications Executive of the Georgian Museum of Fine Arts to gauge the success of the event.

“The 1st anniversary of the Museum was nothing short of spectacular,” Ninia told us, adding, “We hosted nearly 300 guests, including artists, musicians, actors, the representatives of media, as well as our ordinary visitors. I believe that the evening proved to be very interesting, integrating the exhibits of contemporary arts with the exposition of the photo collection of Yermakov, which revived Old Tbilisi, all of that completed with the mesmerizing performance of the chamber orchestra.”

Ninia says the event was something of a new statement at 7 Rustaveli Avenue, representing a continuation of ancient tradition at the same time.

“At the beginning of the 20th century, the building of the current museum housed the picturesque ‘Oriant’ hotel, famous for salon evenings and interesting guests. This wonderful tradition has been maintained and since October 2, 2018, the venue has been allocated to the contemporary arts. Giya Kancheli, a legendary Georgian composer, passed away exactly today, October 2. At the concert, the Kancheli String Quartet and David Aladashvili commemorated him by performing his most prominent compositions,” Akhvlediani told us.

About the Museum

The Georgian Museum of Fine Arts, at 7 Rustaveli Avenue, opened its doors to visitors for the first time on October 2, 2018. The exhibition hall is private, yet, due to its scale it is of national importance. Housed there is the private collection of the founders of the venue, Gia Jokhtaberidze and Manana Shevardnadze, who aimed to bring together Georgian Soviet and post-Soviet art in the same space and introduce them to wider audiences.

The museum features more than 3,500 wonderful works of nearly 100 artists, created over the past 70 years.

Even though the Georgian Museum of Fine Arts is relatively new, it has already strongly established itself by launching a number of interesting projects along with its permanent exhibition, including important expositions, classical music concerts, as well as public lectures and masterclasses by famous artists within the framework of the initiative Public(A) Talks.

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Address: 7 Rustaveli Avenue 

Tel: 591 68 00 00

Facebook: Georgian Museum of Fine Arts

Insta: @georgianart

By Ketevan Kvaratskheliya