Festival Art Gene 2020 Tbilisi Tour to be Held on July 23-26

On July 23, Georgia's leading annual festival of folk culture Art Gene will launch its Tbilisi tour. The festival will be held in rather a different format this year, following all types of regulations related to COVID-19, including two-meter distancing between attendees.

A new concert space has been arranged for the festival at the Tbilisi Ethnographic Museum, with a hay bale parterre and a new stage.

The Art Gene Tbilisi tour will be launched on July 23 by the bands ‘REGGAEON’ and ‘Frani.’ The concert of ‘Sukhishvilebi’ will be held on July 24.

On July 25, the festival will host a concert by Nino Katamadze, and on July 26, the Tbilisi tour will be closed with a concert by Niaz Diasamidze.

For the first time in 17 years, an electronic music night concert, Art-gene After Party has been added to the festival this year. The new project will take place in the CUBE area of Turtle Lake.

The festival Art Gene 2020 will end with a regional tour on Gomi Mountain, in Georgia’s western Guria region, on August 2. This is the first time in the existence of the festival that first the Tbilisi tour is held, and then the regional tour in a single region. The festival days of the Tbilisi tour have also been reduced, with only four concert days this year.

The final part of the festival will traditionally host exhibitions of Georgian handicrafts and folk concerts from different regions.

For 17 years, Art Gene Festival has contributed to the formation and development of a number of new ensembles, groups and musicians. Thanks to its promotion of live and original music, a number of talented musicians and bands have been introduced to a wider audience. It has even become a kind of springboard for many bands and singers. As always, the festival is set to offer interesting news and debutants to the audience this year.

The festival was founded in 2004. During this time, it has discovered and archived unique ethnographic materials throughout Georgia, including many unique materials on the verge of loss. By presenting folklore and contemporary music in one space, and with different types of activities, Art Gene also contributes significantly to the promotion of folklore among young people and the development of folk ensembles in the regions. It was one of the first festivals to give regional ensembles the opportunity to showcase their creativity across the country and create more motivation for development.