GeoAIR and Archidrome presents...
GeoAIR 02/11/2008 12:34
Salome Machaidzes Exhibition (delikatessenhaus.com) & Kavkas Lab with Georgian Artists (ditorei Leipzig)18-23 oktoberBoth exhibitions were organized for the Theatre Festival OFF EUROPA in Leipzig.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/georgienblogspotcom/sets/72157607139937999/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/georgienblogspotcom/sets/72157608086872293/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/georgienblogspotcom/sets/72157608076949084/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/georgienblogspotcom/sets/72157608072143758/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/georgienblogspotcom/sets/72157607950691940/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/georgienblogspotcom/sets/72157608082513105/
APRIL PRO Program
GeoAIR 06/04/2008 21:23
PLEASE CHECK REGULARLY FOR UPDATES!Week One / arrival and orientation team
DAY 00 / Wednesday 2 April
Visiting group arrives
Meeting some participants, relaxed dinner at home, not doing much this day, waiting for the group to be complete.
DAY 01 / Thursday 3 April
12.00 Breakfast in Silk Museum
Meeting participants of April Project, Archidrome and Silk museum team at the Silk museum (workspace).
Touring around the Silk museum building, seeing what part of it we can use.
Touring the permanent exhibition of the Silk museum. Tour guide is former director of the museum who saved most of the collection and still proudly working there and is meaningful within the museum.
Introduction to our project presentation by Sophia and Onno
Diner all together in restaurant Rachis Ubani (Archidrome, April Project and Silk museum team)
DAY 02 / Friday 4 April
Walking in the city.
DAY 03 / Saturday 5 April
11.00 City-tour (by Marshutka mini bus), to Signagi, 2 hours away of Tbilisi an old beautiful village that is now being turned into the tourist attraction being pumped up, painted, renovated etc. It is also said that the renovation is quite façade connected and things are just made into a better display.
In Signagi they have also moved Pirosmanis paintings into the newly made exhibition spaces. Pirosmani is the artist from the beginning of the 19th century. He is self-educated naive artist, surely worthwhile seeing.
DAY 04 / Sunday 6 April
Rustavi former industrial city next to Tbilisi and Mtskheta - old capital of Georgia, historic site next to Tbilisi.
Week Two / plan, research
DAY 05 / Monday 7 April
Morning: Team-session with all at Silk museum (about first impressions, observations, possibilities)
Here Lali and Ani from Archidrome will be present to register (write and photograph) the course of artists discussions.
DAY 06 / Tuesday 8 April
Team-session at Silk museum (about plan)
Here Lali and Ani from Archidrome will be present to register (write and photograph) the course of artists discussions.
DAY 07 / Wednesday 9 April
PUBLIC LECTURE
GEORGIAN MODERNISM BY NANA KIPIANI
DAY 08 / Thursday 10 April
DAY 09 / Friday 11 April
DAY 10 / Saturday 12 April
DAY 11 / Sunday 13 April
Week Three / Ensemble / analyses and presentations
DAY 12 / Monday 14 April
Team-session at Silk museum
Here Lali and Ani from Archidrome will be present to register (write and photograph) the course of artists discussions.
DAY 13 / Tuesday 15 April
DAY 14 / Wednesday 16 April
PUBLIC LECTURE
GEORGIAN CONCEPTUAL ART BY KHATUNA KHABULIANI
DAY 15 / Thursday 17 April
DAY 16 / Friday 18 April
Presentation (content and form is still open)
DAY 17 / Saturday 19 April
Presentation
DAY 18 / Sunday 20 April
Presentation / Closing Party
Last days /departure
DAY 19 / Monday 21 April
DAY 20 / Tuesday 22 April
Departures, kiss
DAY 21/ Wednesday 23 April
05:00 Visiting group leaves Tbilisi
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Address Silk Museum:
Tsabadze street 6, next to the entrance of the Mushtaidi Park
Exchange Academy, 2-23 April, Tbilisi, Georgia
GeoAIR 02/02/2008 13:49
1. Group of international visiting artists;
2. Team of Archidrome' - Contemporary Art Archive;
3. Team of Georgian State Silk Museum;
Is it achievable, and if yes how, for one person or a group of people to use the experience of the other people/group and start their project from step further, with the help of already accumulated experience.
To avoid the known setting of the artists being invited somewhere distant place for short while, in order to produce quick work that concludes into an exhibition, of which not much remains after the departure of the artists, we decided to go the other way and change the setting.
Suggestion was that the invited artists would work on a real problem that is present in Georgia, namely lack of archive or a base where the information and experience about contemporary art can be brought together. This information can have various forms, including collection and registration the projects like Exchange Academy. Thus the question was to think of archiving the project like we were part of as a process of the project itself.
As there is the group Archidrome-Contemporary Art Archive working on these issues in Tbilisi, it was only natural to couple these two groups. From the organizational point of view these two could fill each other up. Archidrome team would give/share the insights about what is going on in Georgia, why there is a need to have an archive, what kind of an archive is being created by Archidrome, etc. And on the other hand the fresh look from the visiting and local artists about this problems, how to build an interesting archive, what questions should the archive answer, should an archive have a form and place, or should it remain as a concept in a virtual setting.
And third one, the organization was State Silk Museum. This organization served as a location where the project took place and raised its own questions: how to give a new life to and existing and aging institution. How to collaborate with young public and artists dealing with contemporary issues.
This project was made possible with support of:
'Archidrome' Contemporary Art Archive
GeoAIR 31/05/2007 22:34
GeoAIR is starting to build a lively database that brings the projects and artists works together within 'Archidrome' Contemporary Art Archive. By doing this we aim to create an overview that allows people to see the connections in what has been done so far in the Caucasus region, and enables them to draw conclusions and set further directions from it. This lively database/archive will contain images, writings, DVDs, films, postcards, sound recordings etc. All the information will also be registered on the blog and later on a website.There are several projects being organized in the Caucasus region and some art spaces are being opened up. However, news of these events is rarely communicated in time and people are not reliably informed about what is and has been going on.
The space will also serve as a presentation room where regular meetings, discussions and presentations will take place. We will regularly invite local or the visiting professionals for lectures and presentations that concern the cultural events in the region.
It is about making a place where people can come and see creations, knowledge, experience and ideas that originate or are to be found in the Caucasus. It is like opening a window that gives you the opportunity to look into this field. Something like this is missing, and because of this the region is invisible to itself and to the rest of the world.
Dance Films Screenings
GeoAIR 19/04/2007 12:12
Program from 22 March to 24 MayGoethe Insitute Tbilisi, Zandukeli street 16
Nadia Tsulukidze organizes Dance Films Screenings with disscusions, presenting concepts and ideas of Chorepgraphers from German 'Ausdrucks Tanz to 'Tanztheater', American Modern and Postmodern Dance.
Onno Dirkers residency in Tbilisi.
GeoAIR 02/04/2007 12:21
- Cultural Agenda Tbilisi, project by Onno Dirker
- Design Nini Palavandishvili
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Onno Dirker is interested in situations under pressure and the position art can take in these situations. Some of the themes and methods he works with are: the sociology of urban design, the relationship between east and west, human routines, cultural and urban analysis of neighbourhoods through the perspective of art. His work and way of working is engaged and enthusiastic and he has realised many successful projects. The Georgian context suits Onno Dirkers interests and we think that his energetic and engaged attitude will lead to a fruitful residence.
Notes from Georgia, by Freya van Dien
GeoAIR 11/03/2007 19:12
This autumn I am staying with my friend and project partner Sophia Tabatadze from half October till half November. We are working on setting up an NGO GeoAIR in Tbilisi for international exchange between people from the fields of art and design. Last year around this time I was also here to see Georgia for the first time, but during my 9 days stay I felt I was just flying over. This second time I am here for 3 weeks which makes it possible to go a little deeper into trying to understand Georgias contemporary society and how it relates to its history. Still I feel I am only gathering pieces of a puzzle and I have not idea yet how to put them together. My notes from Georgia autumn 2006 is a collection of phenomena Ive found in writings, words spoken by people here and in observations, that I feel are part of the Georgian reality.
My notes can be found on: freyavandien.wordpress.com
Tamuna Chabashwili made a presentation of PSWAR and 'Beauty Unrealized' project
GeoAIR 29/01/2007 21:45
PSWAR /www.pswar.org/ is a collaboration of the artists TamunaChabashvili (Georgia, 1978), Adi Hollander (Belgium,
1976) and theoretician Vesna Madzoski (Serbia, 1976)
whose activities go beyond the usual notions of
artists-as-social-activists, artists-as-producers, and
artists-as-curators, blurring the borders between many
roles assumed to be taken by the present-day artists.
Their projects are based on research and include
several levels: examination of collaboration and
collective action, the possibility to use existing
artworks as ready-mades, questioning of the existing
exhibition formats, creating platforms for intimate
and individual experience of the artworks and changing
perception of the space.
Beauty Unrealized
A research project conducted by Public Space With A
Roof
***
In the last few decades beauty has been a much
disputed term. It has often been associated with
things ornamental or decorative, while simultaneously
becoming the buzzword for conservative critics who
object to anything avant-garde. Perhaps because of
this stereotypical understanding and misuse of the
term, 'beauty' has all fallen out of favour within
present art discourse.
With this project, we want to underline that
(produced) objects are equally important as 'social
projects'. Since people have always communicated
through objects in space and time, it is important to
discuss the link between objects and ideas, or more
specifically, between objects and the concept of
beauty. Invited artists, composers, film directors and
philosophers will explore the concept of beauty today
within the scope of their own process of
self-development and their own work.
As a framework for the whole project, we created a
special library in which visitors can enter and get
lost in the world of thoughts, ideas, questions,
possibilities, and puzzles.
For more detailed information you can visit the PSWAR
web site:
www.pswar.org
'Dreams of others' by Kirsten Leenaars (NL) 2006-07
GeoAIR 12/12/2006 14:40
Kirsten:
'In my work I explore how identity is constructed, how we look at our selves and consequently at others. As an artist I work mainly in video and photography. I am interested in how the camera can play an active role in the constitution of its subject, questioning my own role as an artist within the traditions of presentation and representation.
I often use my work as a platform for other people where they can perform themselves.
In the project We are our dreams of ourselves souls by gleams And each to each other dreams of others dreams (May 2006)
I looked at aspirational dreams as imagined spaces where personal circumstance and desires intersect. I asked people about their aspirational dreams and in the end to play themselves in their dreams. The dreams are filmed in each participants own living room, functioning as the symbolic framework that defines each one of them. I used objects that were already part of the space and used painted backdrops to assist in the execution of the dream. The dreams in this project are my translations of their dreams into video. I would like to develop a Georgian addition to this work. It is especially exciting to me to develop the counter part for my project in a nation that is going through a time of transformation. Now that new opportunities have opened up and old safety nets are disappearing I think it is particularly interesting to ask people about their aspirational dreams. I am very curious as to how the Georgian dreams will relate to those of my American participants, living in the so called land of opportunities. The Georgian addition to my project will be shown in Chicago at Gallery 400 in March 2007'.
'The Very Temporary Contemporary Museum', by Rosell Heijmen (NL) 2006-07
GeoAIR 21/11/2006 18:12
At the end of 2006 I visited Tbilisi in order to start preparations for a publication about Arts and Culture in Tbilisi, in collaboration with GeoAIR. As a guest in Goethe Institute I was invited to make an exhibition in this period. The first step was to talk to young artist about their art-practice and the possibilities to show their work, hoping to see a lot of work in the process. Soon it became clear that the only possibility to see work by young artists is through looking in a catalogue, magazine or visit the artists in their home. This was my third visit to Tbilisi and unfortunately during all of these visits, I was not able to see the works of fellow (living) artists in an exhibition context. However there are a number of very interesting initiatives, art-collectives and persons that try to change the situation and focus on developing their works. I was lucky to have met a number of artists through GeoAIR and because of a prior project in Tbilisi called 'Georgia Here We come' (with an exhibition in the National Art Center that unfortunately seized to exist) in Spring 2006, that enabled me to get some insight in the Georgian Art scene.
There are a great number of museums in Tbilisi, most of them have an exceptional collection, a beautiful building, a large staff, and a lot of free space. Next to these exhibition spaces there are a number of private owned Galleries. None of the exhibition spaces offer contemporary artist a place to experiment, because there is no focus on modern art and the actual space is to be left intact. A few of the bigger museums are being renovated. In Tbilisi renovation can mean a number of things: The national museum on Rustaveli is indeed being renovated, new walls, new floors, new light, new division. It can also mean simply closing a part of the museum and leave it unused for a long period of time. The only 'lively' exhibition spaces and spaces for workshops, lectures and discourse seem to be foreign institutes like The British Council and The Goethe Institute. However their policy is to promote and develop their specific culture, respectively United Kingdom and Germany, it is mostly artists from these countries that have a chance to work there.
There are a lot of empty buildings and a lot of empty space in the museums in the city and there are a lot of plans to realize a contemporary art-space in Tbilisi, however the buildings will probably remain empty for a long time. A lack of flexibility and willingness (support through facilities, permissions etc.) from the part of the city council, the Government and the institutions make it very difficult for the artist to follow through on developed initiatives to realize serious projects without financial means. There is a lot of concern, talk and frustration about the situation, but due to lack of financial means and difficulties in working together, a place for showing, meeting and discussing, seems to be far away. There is hardly any government support, there is practically no art-market or government assignments for contemporary artists.
In contrast to the absence of a functioning presentation space, there are a few very interesting magazines that focus on contemporary art, photography, design, fashion, music, architecture and literature called Anabechdi, Hot Chocolate, a periodical by AIRL, and Loop'A. The magazines offer alternative possibilities for artist and designers to show their work. The first three magazines are in Georgian only, which is a pity for non-Georgians to get an insight in the Georgian contemporary art-scene.
In the Goethe Institute I wanted to show this situation and make a work in-situ. I ended up showing and feeling the situation, by experiencing some difficulties involving making an exhibition. Together with Lado Darakhvelidze and Giorgi Tabatadze I work on an installation based on the reality for artist to develop their art-practice and the lack of exhibition space. We divided the space in a classical museum space and two small museums. The classical space showed pictures of the interiors, taken in all the major museums and other art-spaces in Tbilisi. In the two small spaces Lado Darakhvelidze and Giorgi Tabatadze made a translation of their exhibition possibilities, they showed their work as it actually can be seen; in their house. By making this exhibition I was confronted with the Georgian reality. Until this time I did not actually understand what it is to deal with bureaucracy and hierarchy. The coarse of action is different, you need a different mind-frame to realize an exhibition especially in a short time frame. Even in the German Goethe Institute flexibility and support was hard to find. In order to get something done, even small things, heaven and earth were to be moved. The invitation to make this exhibition was there, but it seemed like an actual interest and commitment to realize this exhibition was absent. After having started to build the exhibition it became clear that the institute's interest was in a formal exhibition, framed pictures an occasional sculpture, no sound, no work, no fuss, nothing exceptional. With a small budget, a good concept an actual space, and a cooperating staff one should be able to work magic. With a good concept, an actual space, a small budget, and an unwilling director, everything works a lot slower and takes a lot of energy, creative process stops right there.
At the same time, Tbilisi art-scene is interested and interesting.
Whenever there is a exhibition or an action, there is a large group of visitors, big interest by the media and a lively discourse. For me this goes to show that the so much desired contemporary art space is of utmost importance for visitors and artists and it will work. With this potential and a lot of work remained unseen, it's not obvious why this space doesn't already exist, one could imagine that an unused building, made available by the city council, could easily be transformed.