Art-Gene fest to bring artisanal exhibits, Georgian folk artists to Tbilisi

For a week starting this Sunday, folk arts enthusiasts will be invited to watch artist performances, taste local cuisine and find artisanal items exhibited at the Art-Gene Festival.

Hosted at the Open Air Museum of Ethnography, the customary home for the folklore fest, it will see popular artists ranging from Nino Katamadze & Insight to Sukhishvilebi national dance troupe go on stage.

Accompanying their live performances will be a week-long display of traditional craft items by artisans from different parts of the country.

This year’s event is going to introduce a Hip Hop Day in its program, with local artists featured. Photo: Art-Gene Festival.

Travelling participants will also offer Georgian cuisine to visitors, while organisers have also promised a recreational zone and "creative spaces” for those finding time for the festival.

Beside Katamadze and the Insight band — who will launch the event on Sunday — this year’s Art-Gene will also involve shows by Asea Sool, Robi Kukhianidze & Outsider, the Reggaeon and Frani bands as well as Niaz Diasamidze & 33A.

In a fresh move, organisers have selected July 10 as a Hip-Hop Day, dedicating the date for performances of the genre.

This will be contrasted with folk music performances by groups such as the Pankisi Ensemble from Georgia’s remote north-east and artists from the mountainous Svaneti province, the winemaking Kakheti region and the country’s west.

The open air Ethnographic Museum, overlooking Tbilisi from a hillside, hosts the festival annually. Photo: Art-Gene Festival.

As is customary, the festival will dedicate each of its day to a specific region of Georgia, with selected motifs and displays reflecting related culture and customs.

Beside hosting artists, the 2004-founded festival has also worked to discover and preserve "unique ethnographic” materials from across Georgia.

The annual event has become synonymous with its location, the Ethnographic Museum located on the hillside leading up to Tbilisi's Turtle Lake recreational park.

Created in the mid-20th century to represent a miniature model of Georgia's ethnic diversity, the open-air venue features 70 different buildings constructed according to customs in the country's regions.

The 2018 Art-Gene Festival will run at the location between July 8-15.