Google’s Cultural Website to Showcase Georgian Art

In an agreement signed between Google and Art Palace (the Georgian State Museum of Theatre, Music, Cinema and Choreography), the Art Palace of Georgia will now be able to showcase many of its unique exhibits on a special website named the Google Cultural Institute.

Launched in 2011, Google Cultural Institute is “an effort to make important cultural material available and accessible to everyone and to digitally preserve it to educate and inspire future generations.”

Tbilisi’s Art Palace treasures will become a part of a virtual family where the works of Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Botticelli, Caravaggio, Van Gogh and others are showcased.

Art Palace is the first organization in Georgia to become a member of the Cultural Institute. The museum has already started the process of uploading high quality photographs of its many exponents onto the webpage - paintings, unique pieces of applied art, cinema and theater costumes, manuscripts, porcelain, archeological artifacts and metal works which viewers will be able to see in the smallest detail by using the online zoom feature.

“We are very excited and honored to be able to present the wonderful exponents we house at Art Palace to an international audience through the Google Cultural Institute,” said Giorgi Kalandia, Director of the Art Palace. “Once the initial photos are uploaded, we plan to make and upload a virtual journey through the museum and 3D displays of chosen pieces of art.”

The Art Palace was recently awarded a Special Mention of the jury of Europa Nostra in recognition of its outstanding contribution to the conservation of historic paintings, furniture and other elements.

If you are lucky enough to live in Georgia, you can see the Art Palace treasures live at Kargareteli Str. 6, Tbilisi.

Ana Akhalaia