Mzia Chikhradze, a researcher at the G. Chubinashvili National Research Centre, participated in the Fulbright Scholarly Program from October 25, 2009, to June 14, 2010, as a researcher in the history and theory of modern art. During this period, she conducted academic research on the topic “Modernism and Georgian Avant-Garde Films.” To work on the aforementioned program, Mzia Chikhradze was dispatched to Columbia University in New York.
Under her direction, an academic conference titled “Modernism in Georgia: Redrawing the Boundaries” (see http://www.harrimaninstitute.org/events/conferences.html) and an exhibition on Georgian Modernism were organized at Columbia University. In addition to color photocopies of Georgian futurist books and modernist paintings, the exhibition also showcased Georgian avant-garde films (see: http://www.harrimaninstitute.org/events/exhibits.html).
Both Georgian and foreign specialists participated in the aforementioned conference, “Modernism in Georgia: Redrawing the Boundaries,” which was held on April 10, 2010, at Columbia University (New York). The conference was significant both in terms of sharing knowledge and experience, and from the perspective of establishing new contacts. The conference provided Georgian specialists with the opportunity to introduce significant phenomena of Georgian Modernism to a wider audience. The goal of the conference was to encompass all aspects of Georgian Modernism. The presentations were grouped thematically and conceptually under a common theme: Georgian Modernism, Avant-Garde, and Modernity.
The speakers at the conference were: Catharine Nepomnyashchy (Ann Whitney Olin Professor, Chair of the Russian Department at Barnard College, Columbia University), Lauren Ninoshvili (PhD in Ethnomusicology/Folklore, Columbia University; Coordinator of Georgian Studies at the Harriman Institute, Columbia University), Harsha Ram (Associate Professor of Slavic Languages and Literatures and Comparative Literature, University of California, Berkeley), Françoise Le Gris (Associate Professor of Art History, Université du Québec à Montréal), Pamela Renner (Arts Journalist, English Language Visiting Instructor, Empire State College), Ketevan Shavgulidze (Associate Professor, Grigol Robakidze University, Tbilisi State Academy of Arts, Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University), Tea Tabatadze (Art Historian, G. Chubinashvili National Research Centre for Georgian Art History and Heritage Preservation; Professor at the Tbilisi State Academy of Arts), Nestan Tatarashvili (Architect, Chair of the Art Nouveau Preservation Group; Architect at Grosso), Mzia Chikhradze (Researcher at the G. Chubinashvili National Research Centre for Georgian Art History and Heritage Preservation; Fulbright Research Scholar at the Harriman Institute, Columbia University), and Oliko Zhghenti (Researcher at the Scientific-Research Centre of the Shota Rustaveli Theatre and Film Georgian State University; Visiting Professor at Shota Rustaveli State University, Batumi).
In parallel with the conference, Mzia Chikhradze organized an exhibition of Georgian Modernism and the Tbilisi Avant-Garde in the atrium of the Harriman Institute at Columbia University, which ran from April 1 to May 10, 2010. The material for this exhibition had been presented a year prior at the Casey Kaplan Gallery in Chelsea (New York). The curators of the said exhibition were Swiss art historian and curator Daniel Baumann and the Art Interdisciplinary Research Laboratory (AIRL, Georgia).
The exhibition “Georgian Modernism/Tbilisi Avant-Garde,” held under the direction of Mzia Chikhradze, ran from April 1 to May 10, 2010. The exposition was located in the atrium of the Harriman Institute. The exhibition was organized in cooperation with the Harriman Institute of Columbia University, the Art Interdisciplinary Research Laboratory (Georgia), and Daniel Baumann (Art Historian, Independent Curator, Switzerland).
The aim of the exhibition was to demonstrate the place and role of Georgian modernist art and culture in the development of modern Western art history. This material had been presented a year prior, in July 2009, at the Casey Kaplan Gallery in New York in the exhibition titled “The Fantastic Tavern: The Tbilisi Avant-Garde,” curated by the aforementioned Daniel Baumann (Independent Curator from Switzerland) and the Art Interdisciplinary Research Laboratory (Georgia). The exhibition “Modernism in Georgia / Tbilisi Avant-Garde” presented one of the most crucial periods in the history of Georgian art. During the brief history of independence of the Democratic Republic of Georgia, from 1918 to 1921, Tbilisi resembled a “Little Paris,” becoming the cultural center of the Caucasus and Russia. The exhibition showcased the intercultural, international art of the Tbilisi Avant-Garde, displaying color copies of futurist books, journals, newspapers, Dadaist manifestos, modernist poetry, paintings, theatrical design, and advertising posters published and created in Tbilisi between 1917 and 1924, alongside audio recordings of avant-garde poetry and Georgian avant-garde films. All of this reflected the artistic and cultural environment that was being generated in Tbilisi during the 1910s and 1920s, which constituted the extraordinary phenomenon known as the Tbilisi Avant-Garde.
On April 17, 2010, Mzia Chikhradze participated in the 15th Annual World Convention of the Association for the Study of Nationalities (ASN) at Columbia University. One of the thematic sections of the symposium was defined under the title “Hidden Georgian Histories in Russian Culture and Thought.”
Mzia Chikhradze’s presentation was on the topic: “The Outcomes of Georgian-Russian Cultural Relations in the Early 20th Century: Two Main Aspects of Georgian Influences on Russian Art.”
Mzia Chikhradze, Researcher at the G. Chubinashvili National Research Centre
Mzia Chikhradze, a researcher at the G. Chubinashvili National Research Centre, participated in the Fulbright Scholarly Program from October 25, 2009, to June 14, 2010, as a researcher in the history and theory of modern art. During this period, she conducted academic research on the topic “Modernism and Georgian Avant-Garde Films.” To work on the aforementioned program, Mzia Chikhradze was dispatched to Columbia University in New York.
Under her direction, an academic conference titled “Modernism in Georgia: Redrawing the Boundaries” (see http://www.harrimaninstitute.org/events/conferences.html) and an exhibition on Georgian Modernism were organized at Columbia University. In addition to color photocopies of Georgian futurist books and modernist paintings, the exhibition also showcased Georgian avant-garde films (see: http://www.harrimaninstitute.org/events/exhibits.html).
Both Georgian and foreign specialists participated in the aforementioned conference, “Modernism in Georgia: Redrawing the Boundaries,” which was held on April 10, 2010, at Columbia University (New York). The conference was significant both in terms of sharing knowledge and experience, and from the perspective of establishing new contacts. The conference provided Georgian specialists with the opportunity to introduce significant phenomena of Georgian Modernism to a wider audience. The goal of the conference was to encompass all aspects of Georgian Modernism. The presentations were grouped thematically and conceptually under a common theme: Georgian Modernism, Avant-Garde, and Modernity.
The speakers at the conference were: Catharine Nepomnyashchy (Ann Whitney Olin Professor, Chair of the Russian Department at Barnard College, Columbia University), Lauren Ninoshvili (PhD in Ethnomusicology/Folklore, Columbia University; Coordinator of Georgian Studies at the Harriman Institute, Columbia University), Harsha Ram (Associate Professor of Slavic Languages and Literatures and Comparative Literature, University of California, Berkeley), Françoise Le Gris (Associate Professor of Art History, Université du Québec à Montréal), Pamela Renner (Arts Journalist, English Language Visiting Instructor, Empire State College), Ketevan Shavgulidze (Associate Professor, Grigol Robakidze University, Tbilisi State Academy of Arts, Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University), Tea Tabatadze (Art Historian, G. Chubinashvili National Research Centre for Georgian Art History and Heritage Preservation; Professor at the Tbilisi State Academy of Arts), Nestan Tatarashvili (Architect, Chair of the Art Nouveau Preservation Group; Architect at Grosso), Mzia Chikhradze (Researcher at the G. Chubinashvili National Research Centre for Georgian Art History and Heritage Preservation; Fulbright Research Scholar at the Harriman Institute, Columbia University), and Oliko Zhghenti (Researcher at the Scientific-Research Centre of the Shota Rustaveli Theatre and Film Georgian State University; Visiting Professor at Shota Rustaveli State University, Batumi).
In parallel with the conference, Mzia Chikhradze organized an exhibition of Georgian Modernism and the Tbilisi Avant-Garde in the atrium of the Harriman Institute at Columbia University, which ran from April 1 to May 10, 2010. The material for this exhibition had been presented a year prior at the Casey Kaplan Gallery in Chelsea (New York). The curators of the said exhibition were Swiss art historian and curator Daniel Baumann and the Art Interdisciplinary Research Laboratory (AIRL, Georgia).
The exhibition “Georgian Modernism/Tbilisi Avant-Garde,” held under the direction of Mzia Chikhradze, ran from April 1 to May 10, 2010. The exposition was located in the atrium of the Harriman Institute. The exhibition was organized in cooperation with the Harriman Institute of Columbia University, the Art Interdisciplinary Research Laboratory (Georgia), and Daniel Baumann (Art Historian, Independent Curator, Switzerland).
The aim of the exhibition was to demonstrate the place and role of Georgian modernist art and culture in the development of modern Western art history. This material had been presented a year prior, in July 2009, at the Casey Kaplan Gallery in New York in the exhibition titled “The Fantastic Tavern: The Tbilisi Avant-Garde,” curated by the aforementioned Daniel Baumann (Independent Curator from Switzerland) and the Art Interdisciplinary Research Laboratory (Georgia). The exhibition “Modernism in Georgia / Tbilisi Avant-Garde” presented one of the most crucial periods in the history of Georgian art. During the brief history of independence of the Democratic Republic of Georgia, from 1918 to 1921, Tbilisi resembled a “Little Paris,” becoming the cultural center of the Caucasus and Russia. The exhibition showcased the intercultural, international art of the Tbilisi Avant-Garde, displaying color copies of futurist books, journals, newspapers, Dadaist manifestos, modernist poetry, paintings, theatrical design, and advertising posters published and created in Tbilisi between 1917 and 1924, alongside audio recordings of avant-garde poetry and Georgian avant-garde films. All of this reflected the artistic and cultural environment that was being generated in Tbilisi during the 1910s and 1920s, which constituted the extraordinary phenomenon known as the Tbilisi Avant-Garde.
On April 17, 2010, Mzia Chikhradze participated in the 15th Annual World Convention of the Association for the Study of Nationalities (ASN) at Columbia University. One of the thematic sections of the symposium was defined under the title “Hidden Georgian Histories in Russian Culture and Thought.”
Mzia Chikhradze’s presentation was on the topic: “The Outcomes of Georgian-Russian Cultural Relations in the Early 20th Century: Two Main Aspects of Georgian Influences on Russian Art.”