Georgia: Palace of Arts hosts exhibition of “Treasure of the Palace of Arts”

Tbilisi: The exhibition “Treasure of the Palace of Arts” was opened in the Palace of Arts- Museum of the History of Culture. The exhibition, which will be presented for the first time in the museum, is dedicated to the collections of folk applied arts that were handed over to the Palace of Arts in 2021. The palace also hosts a second exhibition – an exposition of unique paintings purchased by the Ministry for the museum.

The opening of the exhibition was attended by the Minister of Culture, Sports and Youth of Georgia Thea Tsulukiani, Director of the Palace of Arts and Culture History Museum Giorgi Kalandia and other invited guests.

The unique treasure was stored in a dilapidated building (former Folk and Applied Arts Museum building), silver and fabric collection storage was located on the ground floor, where plaster was falling from the walls and water was leaking from the roof.

In 2021, according to the decision of the Minister of Culture, Tea Tsulukiani, for the proper protection and exhibition of museum exhibits, a historical building was purchased adjacent to the Palace of Arts, which was renovated, stock spaces, work rooms and the collections of the former Museum of Folk and Applied Arts were furnished, It was placed in a building equipped with modern museum standards.

The treasure is now hosted in the exhibition halls of the Art Palace-Culture History Museum. For the exhibition, by the Palace of Arts, the museum showcases created by the paintings of a Latvian socialist, ethnographer, painter, teacher, and employee of the Republic of Latvia, accredited in the Democratic Republic of Georgia, Juli Straume.

Notably, the visitors to the exhibition will also get to see brilliant pieces of art created by folk craftsmen of the Caucasus Custodial Committee during the early period.

The diversity of exhibits greatly represents the national cultural treasure; in particular, the exhibition halls are presented: samples of Georgian “gold sculpture”, carpets and sketches, according to which the works were created in the trial workshops at the Museum of Folk and Decorative Applied Art.

The exhibits presented are distinguished by their high-artistic, artworks, and at the same time they are Georgian traditional art pieces.

Notably, among the new exhibits are art pieces of special national importance. “Portrait of Elene Cherkezishvili-Machable”, painted by Gigo Gabashvili, deserves a special mention, unique sketches from the cartoons “Wedding of Sticks” and “Tsuna and Tsutsuna”; among the items purchased for the museum are the precious canvas “Pastoral” by Mariam Amilakhvari, one of the first female painters of the XIX century.

For your information: After a 30-year decision, in 2021, the Ministry of Culture began to replenish museum funds. Among them, about 500 exhibits were purchased for the art palace. The visitors will be able to see the unique collections exhibited at the Cultural History Museum for three months.