A 10-day festival of extraordinary exhibitions, public talks and educational events will celebrate International Museum Day in Georgia starting next week. The Georgian National Museum Fest, bringing together celebrations for two dates, will host visitors at various GNM venues across the country starting May 15.

It will mark the global museum day along with the 100th anniversary of the First Democratic Republic of Georgia and involve the annual Night at the Museum program. Exhibitions hosted for the festival will include popular recent displays in Tbilisi like photographs of Paris by famed late photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson and snapshots of two visual diaries by famed 20th century photographer Robert Capa and award-winning German photojournalist Thomas Dworzak.

Moments captured in the French capital by Cartier-Bresson, a co-founder of acclaimed collective Magnum Photos, later went on to become timeless. Some his most recognised photographs include a 1969 image Boulevard Diderot and a 1954 photo of a woman crossing a street in the city.

The showcase of photos by Capa and Dworzak highlights the former’s 1947 trip across the Soviet Union along with author John Steinbeck, and its 2017 reenactment by the Dworzak and British reporter Julius Strauss. Capa and Steinbeck toured the Soviet cities and towns for six weeks, travelling to Moscow, Stalingrad, Kiev and the Soviet Georgia. Their contemporary counterparts also documented places and momentsfrom lives of people in the former Soviet states today.

In other events, classical art will also find its spot in the program, with works by 16th century Venetian painter Titian selected to honour his legacy as the “master of colour”. Another exhibition will focus on Renaissance-era artists with exhibits from the Royal Library of Turin. The subject of the 1918-1921 Georgian Democratic Republic will have its specific display at the Museum of Georgia, while the same venue will later also highlight the topic of Georgian artists in the realm of Soviet repressions.

      On May 15-30, due to the International Museum Day, we present the Georgian National Museum festival which is dedicated to the 100 years anniversary of the Democratic Republic of Georgia. Georgian National Museum will host various local and international exhibitions, world masterpieces from Italy, as well as educational programs, book presentations, lectures and more.

PROGRAM:

-From May 15: “Titian – Master of Color: Madonna and Child” – D. Shevardnadze National Gallery, Shota Rustaveli Ave. 11
-May 16, 4 and 5 pm: “Henri Cartier-Bresson – Paris” – within the exhibition, guided tours of project director and MAGNUM representative Eka Enukidze – I. Grishashvili Tbilisi History Museum (Karvasla), Sioni Str. 8. (Preliminary registration required – 292 32 27)
-May 16, 7 pm: Presentation of the book “Georgian National Museum” – D. Shevardnadze National Gallery, Shota Rustaveli Ave. 11
-May 17, 4 pm: – Jewish Cultural Heritage in Georgian National Museum Collections, webpage presentation and exhibition – Georgian National Museum Auditorium, A. Purtseladze Str. 1
-May 18, 10 pm – 5:50 pm: International Museum Day – Entries for all museums of the Georgian National Museum are free of charge.
-May 19, 20, 27 – 1 pm-5 pm: Georgian traditional craft program – G. Chitaia Open Air Museum of Ethnography, 1 Turtle Lake Road.
-May 19, 9pm – 1am: Night in Museum – New exhibitions, educational programs, musical performances and public lectures:
– 9 pm: „MAGNUM PHOTO 70 – Georgian Diary”(Robert Capa 1947, Thomas Dworzak 2017) – Svaneti Museum of History and Ethnography, A. Ioseliani str.7, Mestia, Svaneti.
– 8 pm: Exhibition of Keti Kapanadze’s Artworks “8 Minutes” – I. Grishashvili Tbilisi History Museum, Sioni Str. 8
– 9 pm: Discussion-talks on “What is a Contemporary Museum for me?”. Speakers: Keti Trapaidze – educational programs manager and Tbilisi History Museum associate Tsiko Jankarashvili ” – I. Grishashvili Tbilisi History Museum, Sioni Str. 8
– 9 pm: Nino Khundadze’s public lecture and a meeting with Zurab Nijaradze – D. Shevardnadze National Gallery, Shota Rustaveli Ave. 11
-May 22, 7 pm: Exhibition “Life around You” – National Geographic Georgia, S. Janashia Museum of Georgia Courtyard, Shota Rustaveli Ave. 3
-From May 25: Geniuses of the Renaissance – Graphic works from Turin Royal Library – D. Shevardnadze National Gallery, Shota Rustaveli Ave. 11
-From May 26: Exhibition “Democratic Republic of Georgia 100” – S. Janashia Museum of Georgia, Shota Rustaveli Ave. 3
-May 29, 7:30 pm: “Museum Forum: New Approaches, New Publics” – S. Janashia Museum of Georgia Courtyard, Shota Rustaveli Ave. 3
– May 30: Exhibition “Red Terror and Georgian Artists” – S. Janashia Museum of Georgia, Shota Rustaveli Ave. 3