Culture ministry will support projects promoting "love for homeland and freedom"
The former justice minister began formal work at the newly reorganised culture ministry last week. Photo via Thea Tsulukiani page on social media.
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Georgia's newly appointed Minister of Culture, Sport and Youth Thea Tsulukiani has said the institution will look to support production of culture projects promoting "love for homeland and freedom" in young generations.
Tsulukiani made comments in a TV interview with the Imedis Dila morning programme on Tuesday, making her remarks in response to a question about whether her ministry would support artists working against conventions in their practice.
Asked if artists "dismantling clichés" in their creative work would have support of the ministry, Tsulukiani said she disagreed with the idea of a minister "promoting" work they did not approve of.
If by 'support' we mean a minister promoting what she does not like, there might not be such support. Do not forget that I am a viewer as well and have my own taste - whether good or bad - like everyone else," Tsulukiani told programme hosts.
Expanding on the subject, the newly appointed minister also explained she would work to support cultural projects promoting "love for homeland and freedom" during her tenure at the state agency.
The state should provide financial support for [projects] promoting love for homeland and freedom among the youth, and giving them the correct information on human rights"
- Thea Tsulukiani
She also spoke about a need for support from the culture ministry for works on the subject of the ongoing Russian occupation of two of Georgia's provinces, particularly noting young creatives from the third and fourth generation internally displaced persons from Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali region.
Tsulukiani said she believed state support should go for projects explaining "necessities for ending the occupation", adding the culture field should have a role in conversations around the subject.
In her comments the minister also spoke about initiatives such as creating a unified code of culture-related laws and regulations.
Formally assuming her new ministerial position last week, Tsulukiani encountered controversial reception from some artists of the domestic culture industry who questioned her qualifications for the job due to her history in government sectors unrelated to culture.
Although most recently she worked as the Chair of the Parliamentary Committee on Education, Science and Culture, Tsulukiani is mostly known for her work as the justice minister between 2012-2020.
Georgia's former justice minister Thea Tsulukiani has been appointed Minister of Culture, Sport and Youth and will lead the reorganised state body after its separation from the Ministry of Education and Science.
The Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports of Georgia has again been divided into two government agencies - the Ministry of Education and Science and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth, as it was before former Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze merged the ministries in 2018.
The Ministry of Defence of Georgia is working to produce videogames "oriented on patriotism" and designed both for use by Georgian Defence Forces and the general public, Juansher Burtchuladze, the candidate for the minister's post, told MPs on Monday.
Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia has stated that all technical work has been completed to separate the Ministries of Education and Culture.
Georgian-based theatre companies and cultural collectives aiming to bring performances and initiatives to the country's regions can enter grant competitions unveiled by the Ministry of Culture, Sport and Youth and benefit from financing for their ideas.
A number of authors from the longlist of this year's Litera Prize, one of two major literary awards in Georgia, have dropped out of the contest in protest, citing appointment of a jury member from the culture ministry and the recent incident involving minister Thea Tsulukiani with a local reporter.
All but one judges of this year's Litera Prize in Georgia have resigned in protest, joining criticism of a jury member being appointed to the panel from the culture ministry, while nominees in the longlist of the literature prize have asked the ministry to remove its appointment.
Publishing house Intelekti has removed all of its books from the Litera Prize nominations, one of the two major literary awards in Georgia, following a protest wave against Georgian Culture Minister Tea Tsulukiani, who appointed a staff member of the culture ministry to the jury of the contest. Participants of the literary competition started exiting from the Litera Prize due to a recent incident in which Tea Tsulukiani took away a microphone from an opposition-minded TV channel Mtavari Arkhi reporter.