Art Doll Tbilisi 2016
By Mariam Chanishvili
Thursday, December 8
On December 3-5, the Museum of Modern Art in Tbilisi- named after Zurab Tsereteli - the 1st International Festival of Author’s Dolls “Art Doll Tbilisi 2016” was held. 11 artists from 6 countries - such as Estonia, Russia, Ukraine, Czech Republic, Azerbaijan and Italy - were invited.
During the opening ceremony, the works of 20 Georgian and international artists were exposed. Materials for making the participants' dolls vary from a simple papier-mache to refined porcelain, but the materials do not affect the process. Both the idea and the technical implementation of the work are valued.
The diversity of styles, images, and techniques of execution were all exhibited during the opening ceremony.
The Society of Doll Masters of Georgia, “GeoDoll”, supported by the Ministry of Culture and Mayor’s Hall of Georgia organized the festival. The Mayor of Tbilisi, Davit Narmania, and the Minister of Culture and Monument Protection, Mikheil Giorgadze, attended the event. Giorgadze delivered a speech thanking the Doll Masters Society for organizing the event.
One of the participants of the exhibition, Nana Okruashvili, who is an architect, a multimedia artist and an animator, said that she was first inspired during her visit to the Tbilisi Doll Museum back in her childhood.
“I fell in love with those dolls and puppets. These impressions are still very vibrant for me. As I don’t have any special training in this field, every time I make a puppet, I also try to familiarize myself with other masters’ experiences and various puppet making traditions,” said Okruashvii.
Another Georgian artist, Keti Dzidziguri, mentioned that the main idea is to combine sculpture, dolls, graphics and pictorial art all in one piece of art.
A number of works presented by Kateryna Veshtak (from Ukraine) were purchased by major foundations, including the Fund of President Aliev of Azerbaijan.
