2018 Tbilisi
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The festival Art Prospect in Tbilisi «Memory Threads: Museum and Neighborhood» (27.10 — 4.11.2018) concerns the relationship of museums and neighborhoods, in this particular case the special history and layers the Silk Museum has in its surrounding. Initially various buildings of the Caucasian Sericulture Station used to stand here, mulberry trees for silkworms are scattered in the neighborhood, the museum building that was built for this museum specifically is the only remaining one with initial function, keeping the memory of the place. However, there is very little involvement and connection between the neighborhood and the museum nowadays. The thread of the festival follows works and events within the museum, in its outer spaces and surrounding public, or private spaces, inviting the neighbors to get involved and connect with the museum. With this approach the festival also deals with the topic of public space and privatization in Tbilisi, which has been rather problematical in previous decades as public spaces gradually disappear, and it seeks the role art and cultural institution can have in critically analyzing it. The festival is a big step towards some of current questions the Silk Museum asks itself as a cultural institution — what knowledge does the museum keep about its surrounding and what new stories can it collect and store about the neighborhood? What role can it have in the neighborhood?
Curators of the festival: Data Chigholashvili, Nino (Chuka) Kuprava, Nini Palavandishvili and Mariam Shergelashvili.
Works by: Tamar Botchorishvili and Naili Vakhania, Arina Cazac, Mitya Churikov, Giorgi Danibegashvili, Onno Dirker and Elene Gabrichidze, Dana Iskakova, Leyla Musayeva, Anna Parkosadze, Katharina Stadler, Diana Ukhina.
Coordinators of the educational program Student as a Guide: Mariam Gochelashvili and Tinatin Kipiani.
The State Silk Museum
G. Tsabadze st. 6, Tbilisi, Georgia
The State Silk Museum would like to thank the Local Administrative Body of Didube District, Mushtaid Garden administration, the Union of the Deaf of Georgia, public schools #18 and #166 and also, FabLab Tech Park of Georgia’s Innovation and Technology Agency for their cooperation within the festival.
The festival is taking place as part of Art Prospect Project and is supported by CEC ArtsLink.