Renovated Academy of Arts to Reopen Next Month

The Tbilisi State Academy of Arts, the chief state institution for art education in the country, is set to open next month following a multi-year renovation.

The building of the Academy, considered a cultural heritage monument, has had much of its original look restored. Exhibition halls, the Grand Library, funds and the yard of the Academy have benefited from renovation efforts worth GEL 12 million. 

The principal element of the renovated institution is the so-called Mirror Halls, the sumptuous adornment of which, executed by Iranian artists in the mid-19th century, is reminiscent of the decoration of oriental palaces.

The renovation has been focused not merely on the Academy’s educational infrastructure but also its museum, which has been part of the complex since 1928. The museum houses over 6,000 items in painting, drawing and sculpture, many of them created by students of the school.

The Academy’s building was constructed in the 1850s, with the maiden art school opened within its walls in 1874. The venue adopted the title of an academy in 1922, under the newly established Soviet authority, with faculties for painting, sculpture, drawing and architecture opened for students.