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Contemporary Visual Arts World in Georgia

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Contemporary Visual Arts World in Georgia Contemporary Visual Arts World in Georgia Nikoloz Nadirashvili 2015 1 2 4 Acknowledgements 'Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?' 'That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,' said the Cat. 'I don't much care where—' said Alice. 'Then it doesn't matter which way you go,' said the Cat. - Lewis Carroll, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1865) 1998, p. 89 ‘A slow sort of country!’ said the Queen. ‘Now, here, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place. If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that!’ - Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking-Glass (1871) 2007, p. 25 In spite of the sparkle of contemporary visual arts practices during the last decade, artistic life lacks dynamism in Georgia. The majority of arts professionals run as fast as they can to stay in place; however, there are some who try to run twice as fast to transcend the borders inherited by the Soviet realm. Unfortunately, there is no roadmap for these runners (artists, arts managers, policymakers etc.) that could ultimately lead to sequential and organized operations. Thus, my research represents an attempt to construct one for the field I dedicated my time and love to over the last 5 years. I deem the legacy of the thesis to be the stepping-stone in terms of answering “which way [to] go from here and possibly, how to run twice as fast as that?” With this in aim the research relies on the theoretical framework by Pascal Gielen. The structure of the Biotope, introduced by the researcher in 2009, served to organize current streams within Georgian contemporary visual arts world. This, in turn, resulted in creation of the visual map of the field. Prima facie, I am grateful to my supervisors, Mr. Quirijn van den Hoogen and Mr. Pascal Gielen for sincere and valuable guidance and continuous encouragement. I am extremely thankful to my sister, Nutsa Nadirashvili and my friends, Ana Nikoladze and Tamar Papava, for their support in/with editing, Nanka Baghaturia, whose refined design skills constituted to the creation of the visual form of the Georgian contemporary visual arts 5 world map and Ana Gabelaia- who intermediated between me and Georgian artistic milieu during the research. I take this opportunity to express the gratitude to Irena Popiashvili, whose arts managerial skills influenced my professional development in the very beginnings of my career in the contemporary visual arts field. Secondly, I am extremely indebted to Khatuna Khabuliani and Dimitri Tumanishvili, whose professional expertize and familiarity encouraged me to become an arts researcher. Finally, I want to thank Nino Gaganidze who, first and foremost, ensured my professional development and encouraged me during the whole research process. I also place on record my sense of gratitude to one and all- who directly or indirectly- have lent their hand in this venture. Dedicated to my good friend Mari Gulbiani, eternal believer in love and art. 6 Table of Contents Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 9 Terms ......................................................................................................................................................... 17 Research Method & Outline ................................................................................................................ 18 Relevance .................................................................................................................................................. 19 Part I: Theory. Art World(s) ..................................................................................................... 21 1.1 Part I Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 22 1.2 Domains of the Arts World ........................................................................................................... 22 1.2.1 Arts Business Models and the Four Domains .................................................................................... 23 1.3 Biotope ................................................................................................................................................ 29 1.3.1 The Domestic Space .................................................................................................................................... 31 1.3.2 The Communal Space ................................................................................................................................. 33 1.3.3 The Market Space ........................................................................................................................................ 35 1.3.4 The Civil Space .............................................................................................................................................. 37 1.4 Four Domains and Four Quadrants ........................................................................................... 39 Part II: Empiric. Georgian Contemporary Visual Arts World ........................................ 43 2.1 Part II Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 44 2.2 The Government and Culture ...................................................................................................... 45 2.2.1 Cultural Policy Concept of Georgia ....................................................................................................... 47 2.2.2 Strategy for Culture 2025 ......................................................................................................................... 50 2.3 The Ministry and the Biotope ..................................................................................................... 55 3. Non-governmental Actors and the Biotope .............................................................................. 60 3.1 Artists ................................................................................................................................................................... 62 3.2 Incentive Groups .............................................................................................................................................. 67 3.3 Festivals .............................................................................................................................................................. 71 3.4 Private Galleries .............................................................................................................................................. 74 3.5 The National Gallery ...................................................................................................................................... 77 3.6 The National Arts Research Institution .................................................................................................. 80 3.7 International Donor Organizations ......................................................................................................... 83 3.8 Contemporary Visual Arts World Map of Georgia ................................................................ 87 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................................... 89 Limitations ............................................................................................................................................... 93 Questions for Future Research .......................................................................................................... 95 7 AppendiXes ..................................................................................................................................... 96 AppendiX A. Questionnaires & Survey Data .................................................................................. 97 AppendiX B. Financial Chart of the Ministry of Culture and Monument Protection of Georgia .................................................................................................................................................... 125 Bibliography ............................................................................................................................... 137 8 Introduction 9 This thesis is aimed at describing contemporary visual arts world of Georgia. Throughout the research different actors of Georgian contemporary visual arts world are characterized according to their value orientations. As an epilogue the map of contemporary visual arts world of Georgia is provided. The map demonstrates the strengths and weaknesses of the field. Therefore, it will support local policymakers in terms of elaborating the strategies for developing contemporary visual arts practices on the national level. Before introducing the research task, a short overview of the development of Georgian (visual) art scene from the beginning of 20th century onwards is provided. This informs the reader about the artistic field of Georgia, the country, which can be regarded as being on the pale of the history1. Also, this overview leads to the identification of what Georgian contemporary visual art may refer to in the present. During 70 years of 20th century, the official name of Georgia was “Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic”. “The Georgian SSR was formed on February 25 in 1921” (The Great Soviet
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