Month-long Georgian International Festival of Arts begins

It’s time again to celebrate the annual Georgian International Festival of Arts (GIFT) in Tbilisi.

Dozens of local and foreign artists and theatre companies are gathering in the capital city for the next four weeks to participate in the Festival, regarded as one of the leading arts events in the Caucasus.

International choreographers and theatre directors including Sasha Waltz, Dada Masilo and Dmitry Krymov, as well as theatre critics and artists will participate in the GIFT in a range of performances, exhibitions and public talks.

The Rustaveli, Tumanishvili and Griboedov theatres will be the main venues that host performances by visiting troupes from five countries in Europe and beyond.

About two dozen performances are scheduled for the GIFT 2015, meaning there will something everyone can enjoy; from silent movement to singing, to contemporary versions of classical theatre stagings like Carmen and Khanuma as well as brand-new stage concepts.

Dancers perform in a contemporary staging of Carmen by South African dancer and choreographer Dada Masilo. Photo from Georgian International Festival of Arts/Instagram.

This year’s festival launched on Saturday within the framework of the Tbilisoba celebration, that took place in Tbilisi this weekend.

The opening ceremony included awarding the Mikheil Tumanishvili Prize for Excellence in Arts – named after the late Georgian theatre director – to seven recipients including Waltz and famous Georgian composer Giya Kancheli.

The awarding ceremony coincided with a special occasion for Keti Dolidze, founder and artistic director of the Festival, where she was named an Honorary Citizen of Tbilisi for her contribution to the capital’s cultural life with the annual event.

Dolidze founded the Festival in the midst of difficult social and economic situation in Georgia in the late 1990s. Since then the event has hosted more than 200 international visiting groups and companies and became member of the International Festival and Events Association (IFEA), the only Georgian festival in the organisation.

The 2015 GIFT festival is supported by the Ministry of Culture and Monuments Protection of Georgia and Tbilisi City Hall. This year’s event will conclude on November 17.

The full program of events for the GIFT 2015 can be viewed here.