http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/547936 Gone to Caucasus, Back Soon Tue, 14 Feb 2012 18:34:15 +0000 a-n rss generator a-n The Artists Information Company and contributors edit@a-n.co.uk technical@a-n.co.uk http://www.a-n.co.uk/img/logo.gif http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/547936 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/547936 30/07/09 We arrived in Tbilisi in the early hours and stayed in an amazing homestay called Irine's Place - a friendly place run by a woman who never seems to sleep and has connections everywhere... Spent the day sightseeing around the old town - the Narikala Fortress, the statue of Kartlis Deda (Mother Georgia), the sulphur spa, Rustaveli shopping district, cathedrals, the synagogue - allowing ourselves to be touristy for a day and get over the slight jetlag.. We set off to Yerevan the next morning in a crowded marshrutka and will be there for the next 10 days.... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/547936 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/547936  31/07/09   Yerevan is full of painters and cafes - seems like there's one of each on every street corner. The first thing that strikes us is the heat - up to 40 degrees celsius. It is not too bad though as there is fresh watermelon juice everywhere. The Ararat mountain looks unreal, as if it was photoshopped into the skyline.    We arrived just in time to catch the end of the 4th edition of Summer Seminars For Contemporary Art Curators organised by AICA Armenia in the Mkhitar Sebastatsi Fine Arts College which also functions as a project space and a gallery for local and international artists and organisations. At the after party in the part of town known as Bangladesh (because of its remoteness from the centre of YErevan) we met artists and curators from all over Europe, the Middle East, the US and Armenia.  ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/547936 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/547936  02/08/09   We found a nicer place to stay  - close to the opera, with paintings by our landlady and her father. Plus tea and cake:).    Met up with Tsomak, a music curator from Utopiana, a non-profit arts organization based in Geneva with an office in Yerevan, who introduced us to Yerevan's alternative cultural scene.   In the afternoon we managed to find time for the Parajanov museum and then met Edgar Amroyan and Garik Yengibaryan from Art Laboratory collective who took us on a personalised tour of Yerevan complete with examples of local street art.   We finished the day at Hovhannes Margaryan's studio looking at documentation of Art Laboratory's political works, actions and performances.  ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/547936 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/547936   04/08/09 Had a day out in the country yesterday. Edgar, Hovik and Garik introduced us to Vardan Jaloyan, secret nuclear physicist turned art critic, who took us out to his family home in the village of Urtsadzor (which was, seemingly, almost entirely built by his two brothers).   The hospitality we've received so far in Armenia has been quite overwhelming. It turned out that none of the visitors from Yerevan (Art Laboratory members) had been to Urtsadzor before but we had already been fed twice by the time we'd decided where to have the barbecue later in the afternoon.   The location decided upon was in the Khosrov Nature Reserve in the Geghama Mountain Range. On the way we visited Jamsho monastery and Fort Geghi which date from the 12th century and saw our first khatchkars (Armenian carved stone crosses).   We then found the perfect spot by a mountain brook and proceeded to the khoravats (barbecue) ritual which lasted for a few hours. Discussions ranged from politics, art, religion, history and the nature of progress.   On the way back to Yerevan, both relieved and disappointed not to have seen any of the bears, leopards, wolves or poisonous snakes that apparently frequent the area, we drove through a massive storm but arrived to dry streets.  ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/547936 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/547936 04/08/09 Today we had a real meeting marathon. We met Edward and Sonia Balassanian founders of NPAK (Armenian Centre for Contemporary Experimental Art) and spoke about their work and their role in the Armenian arts scene. As the main contemporary art gallery in the country, they play a significant role in shaping the artistic landscape and see themselves as catalysts whose job it is to "find new talent, promote them and let them go".We then met curator Marianna Hovhannisyan who works at Armenian Open University's department of Fine Arts. Their bachelor course provides a contemporary alternative to the very traditional Armenian Arts Academy. The regular teaching programme is accompanied by 5-6 workshops a year for students and graduates run by local and international practising artists. The artistic disciplines taught encompass video art and performance as well as oil painting and ceramics. Marianna showed us both the school and examples of work produced during workshops. The Open University also runs an art school for children and young people between the ages of 4 and 18.We then met with Nazareth Karoyan, the president of AICA Armenia (International Association of Art Critics) who describes himself as a "cultural engineer". He gave us a comprehensive overview of the history of contemporary art in Armenia starting from the 60s up until today.... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/547936 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/547936 05/08/09 We spent the morning in Echmiadzin, the Armenian 'Vatican'. Between 180 and 340 AD it was Armenia's capital and is still the centre of Armenian religious activity. Aside from beautiful churches, one can see many relics including the Holy Lance and fragments of the Noah's Ark which apparently grounded on mount Ararat.Then we went back to Yerevan and met with David Karoyan, artist and curator, whose solo exhibition is currently on at NPAK. David also showed us as much as he could of NPAK's massive archive of contemporary Armenian art and introduced us to video artist Diana Hakobian who showed us some of her painting, installation and video work. We spoke to Daniel Maier-Reimer, a German artist who found some time to talk to us while he was installing his work for an exhibition that opens on Friday. Our visit at NPAK finished with an opening of photography exhibition by Paris-based Sharis Garabedian.Lastly we visited Ara and Artur Petrosyan to see their works and other pieces by members of Art Laboratory. Their work is intensely political and encompasses painting, sound, video, performance and installation based activity.Most art in one day, ever.... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/547936 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/547936 06/08/09 Decided it was time to be touristy today and took a tour to Garni temple and Geghard monastery. Garni is actually a Hellenic temple dating back to the 1st Century A.D. built on a hill with scenic views of surrounding canyons and mountains. Geghard is one of the highlights of Armenia - a monastery from the 4th Century A.D. built into caves in a mountain side. The place has a truly magic atmosphere and an active sacrifice site outside. Later in the day we met Grigor Katchatrian at the Mkhitar Sebastatsi Art School where he is a head teacher and spoke to him about his educational activities and his work as a performance/conceptual artist. During the summer months the school acts as a project/gallery space for local and international artists and curators. This year it was also home to the AICA curators summer school. 07/08/09 Today we tried to find the Museum of Modern Art using our battered copy of Lonely Planet. Sadly it seemed it was closed for renovation. Opening in the 70s it was the first of its kind in the Soviet Union. Cafesjian Museum Foundation was next where we met Nune Torosyan and Karen and Michael De Marsche who are managing the reconstruction of the Cascade and the new contemporary art museum to be situated inside. Karen gave us an extensive tour of the site and it looks very impressive. The museum will focus on contemporary glass art based on Mr. Cafesjian's extensive collection. It will also host temporary art exhibitions and jazz concerts. In the evening we went to NPAK again for a private view followed by a dinner at the Balassanian's where we had an opportunity to meet and talk to more Armenian and international artists and try Sonia's delicious home cooking.... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/547936 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/547936 08/08/09 Wanting to escape Yerevan's heat and noise we did some travelling over the weekend, starting with Dilijan and lake Sevan situated at the altitude of 1900m above sea level. We visited the Haghartsin monastery which was impressive even though it was being renovated. As we were walking back to the main road, we were invited into a trailer for some coffee and watermelon by some workmen working on the road. After some bargaining back in Dilijan (seems that everyone on a marshrutka pays the same price, regardless of how far they go) we headed out to Sevan. The lake itself is gorgeous, surrounded by fog covered hills and with a monastery on a high peninsula that looks out over the water. The resort down below was suitably touristy with cafes and jet skis and pumping club music which mixed nicely with the service happening in the church. After Sevan, we made our way to Alaverdi with its massive copper plant and countless abandoned factories for a monastery marathon. We started at Haghpat where there is a wall with a ledge at the bottom, about six inches off the ground that, legend has it, if you make a wish and can walk to the other side without touching the ground your wish will come true. We then made our way to Sanahin, high above Alaverdi, with spectacular views of mountains, open walled corridors and grass growing on the roof. Our local guide then decided that two UNESCO listed sites in a day is not enough and that that we had to see another place: Kobayr monastery at the top of a cliff. There was also an amazing cave nearby we all went into though it wasn't the safest place... We then head back to Yerevan as there were no marshrutkas to Gyumri that evening.... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/547936 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/547936 10/08/09   Met more Armenian hospitality yesterday. On the recommendation of Leah Kohlenberg (an American journalist-turned-artist in Yerevan) we visited Alex Tarminasian at Berlin Hotel in Gyumri. Describing himself as a "friend of artists", Alex runs the guest house as a platform/gallery/exhibition space for local artists and also runs 'art tours' of Gyumri and artist workshops. We walked in off the street:'We're here to see Alex.''He's in a meeting. Who are you and what is it about?''We're artists, friends of Leah, here doing research. Leah said we should find Alex.'This met with a nod.'He will be half an hour. Sit down and have some coffee, our treat.' Alex arrives and gives us a tour of the hotel, which has paintings in each room, feeds us soup and apple wine made by a local artist (weirdly like a kind of cider concentrate - better than it sounds), and takes us to meet some of his artist friends. Karen Barseghyan became an artist because of the earthquake of 1988 which took more than 20,000 lives in Gyumri and Spitak. He was trapped under rubble for three days and almost lost his right arm to gangrene but a doctor from Russia managed to save it with a series of operations. Aged 9, he was told to start painting as a form of physiotherapy. His early work embraced pop art - all bright colours and big shapes. Recently he has started experimenting with concrete mixed into his paint which produces astonishing canvases which look like buildings. After the earthquake many people were housed, temporarily, in shipping containers (known as domiks). 21 years later many, including Karen, his wife, two children and parents, are still living in the same makeshift homes. 15/3 is a collective of 3 young artists (Karen Barseghyan, Hrach Vardanyan and Gevorg Sargsyan) named after one of these containers where they held their first meetings. We also met Albert Vardanyan, who is an amazing sculptor working mostly in bronze. His works range from the very abstract to the very representational. He carries out every stage of the work himself. We wish we could have stayed longer but it's time to head for Georgia for our residency at Art Villa Garikula.  ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/547936 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/547936   16/08/09   So there are two Akhalkalakis... we decided to travel into Georgia by marshrutka from Gyumri to Akhalkalki, having checked that it was possible with the Armenian tourist office. It was only a couple of hours from Gyumri and not very expensive.   We crossed the border and got out of the Marshrutka at what was apparently the centre of town. Immediately we were descended upon by 4 or 5 taxi drivers, all wanting to know where we were going.   We call our contact at Garikula. Martin: Hi Rezo, we've arrived. Rezo: Great, are you in Garikula yet? Martin: Not yet, we're in Akhalkalaki. How do we get to you? Rezo: Just take a taxi. It's not far.   We ask the taxi drivers about Garikula. None of them have heard of it.   Back on the phone. Martin: They don't know where it is. Rezo: Are you sure you're in the right Akhalkalaki?   We relate this to the taxi drivers and they confirm that yes, there is another Akhalkalaki and that Garikula is probably close to that one. If we go to Akhaltsikhe we can catch an overnight train to Tbilisi and get off at 5am in Kaspi which is close to the other Akhalkalaki.   90 hair-raising minutes later, we arrive in Akhaltsikhe and head to the train station. Except it has no windows and the door is chained. A man selling watermelons tells us that this is ok. A couple of hours later the train arrives.   There's only one carriage but the tickets are cheap. The only thing is the onboard policeman explains we can only have mattresses if we have a drink with him first...   Kaspi, at 5am, is cold. And it's raining.  We take a taxi to Akhalkalaki. By 6.30am and the sun is up. We ask a man who is out on his veranda for directions. He knows where the house is but says it's too early and we should come in out of the rain to keep warm. He gives us each a peach, a glass of wine and a large glass chacha. His two nephews and their friends are staying with him and one by one they appear. He explains that they're having a barbecue and that we should join them. The fire's already lit and it's still raining...   He offers us a lift and we arrive at Art Villa Garikula at 11am. Just in time for breakfast.  ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/547936 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/547936 14/08/09 So we are at Art Villa Garikula, in the village of Akhalkalaki, near Kaspi in the Shida Kartli region, about one hour drive from Tbilisi. The landscape around is amazing and so is the house itself, built by Polish engineer and architect Bolgarski in 1885. After the bolshevik revolution the house was used as an orphanage,a rabbit shed and army base, now it hosts a contemporary art centre,  founded and run by artist Karaman Kutateladze. There are lots of other people around: a group of Austrian artists working on  their projects for Festinova International Festival of Contemporary Art that Garikula is hosting in October, L'Expédition Cycloscope - a French couple of bicycle travellers who also run bicycle powered film shows, and several Garikula staff. Almost every day there are visitors from Tbilisi: artists, curators, friends of friends...every corner of the house and its massive garden is full of people working, chatting, eating and drinking. We decide to explore the area, get used to being in one place for a few days and start working on our project when the others are finished.... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/547936 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/547936 17/08/09 Yesterday the Austrian artists presented their projects: mostly conceptual and site-specific installations and performances. The well-attended presentation was followed by a party with a Georgian buffet, a roast lamb, plenty local wine and obviously Georgian music and a bonfire. Another event took place at the Art Villa today: L'Expédition Cycloscope's i.e. Helene and Fred's amazing performance which involved silent movies projected using power generated by a bicycle and a live musical accompaniment on Clarinet and Accordian. We helped with documenting both events. Tomorrow we are off to Tbilisi for a couple of days to work on our research and meet people, then on to the Ratcha region to visit Arteli Ratcha residency run by artist Kote Jincharadze.... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/547936 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/547936 18/08/09Got to Tbilisi on a marshrutka and went straight to a meeting with Sophia Tabatadze - a Dutch-educated Georgian artist living in Berlin. Sophia showed us around her house that is currently being extended by an extra floor to host GeoAIR - a residency programme for international curators, organisations and artists interested in making connections in the South Caucasus. Situated in central Tbilisi it will certainly be a great base for exploring the arts scene in the region.We then met Nana Kirmelashvili for a coffee. Nana is a curator and one of initiators of Caucasus Biennale and chair of Association Art Caucasus. She told us about and her current projects including curating the Georgian exhibition for this year's Prague biennale.In the afternoon we visited Mamuka Japharidze's place in a village outside Tbilisi, with impressive views over the city. Mamuka and his British partner's new house was also built with the purpose of hosting artists, but in a more informal way without a formal residency programme or institutional structure. Mamuka also showed us some his work.We then got a lift to Kote Jacharidze's flat where we spent the evening with him and his friend Kote Sulaberidze, looking at their work, watching Georgian video art and learning about the famous Georgian toasting traditions.... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/547936 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/547936 18/08/09We spent today in Tbilisi, visiting Rusiko Oat at her New Art Cafe. This turned out to be a great opportunity to accidentally meet people that we'd intended to get in touch with anyway.Ana Riaboshenko from TRAM (Transform Art Module) spoke to us about their projects in Tbilisi and the regions. She also told us about her work at Open Society Georgia Foundation.Magda Guruli, curator of Artisterium, arts manager at and editor of Loop'A international art magazine, spoke to us about the upcoming Artisterium event in October and the Emergency Biennale - a touring exhibition dedicated to Chechnya which makes its 12th stop in Tbilisi. Wato Tsereteli - artist and teacher at the Academy talked about his work, his plans for opening a small contemporary art centre in Tbilisi and art education in Georgia after the move to the Bologna system in HE.We spent the rest of the afternoon walking around in Tbilisi's gorgeous old town before heading back to Kote's to watch some early films by Otar Iosseliani. Tomorrow, off to Ratcha.... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/547936 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/547936 21/08/09 Ratcha is a remote region of Northern Georgia, situated between Svanetia and South Ossetia.  It takes about 6 hours from Tbilisi to get there on a marshrutka filled with people, watermelons, bathroom tiles, a 21" television and other goods impossible to buy up in the mountains. Our final destination is the village of Chkvishi where the Arteli Ratcha residency is situated. The village is spread out on a hill overlooking the valley, a truly stunning location. It's quite big and though most villagers have emigrated to cities, it comes alive in the summer when children and grandchildren are up for a holiday. In the winter the village is cut off by snow. Arteli Ratcha foundation has held workshops and events there with Georgian and international contemporary artists since 2005. The main aim of the foundation is to bring cultural life to the Ratcha region where it is otherwise limited, educate young people about contemporary art and engage with local audiences. Kote Jincharadze's house, where Arteli Ratcha is based, built by his great grandfather at the end of the 19th century, hasn't changed much for the last 100 years except for the addition of running water and a modern bathroom. We spent the two days walking around the village, getting invited to supras and sampling local wine, collecting blackberries and thinking about ideas for future projects in Ratcha. Our idea was a village design festival (inspired by the culture of re-using and recycling everpresent in the village), Kote suggested a scarecrow competition and exhibition. We also helped to start off Kote's new public art project in the village (he has already done a mural by a public table where he painted what the villagers asked him to) - paiting a wall of stones in different colours. The project will be continued by all the artists who visit Ratcha in the next few months. In the evenings we watched films by Mikheil Kobakhidze, Kartlos Khotivari as well as Repentance by Tengiz Abuladze about persecution of artists in the Stalinist period.... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/547936 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/547936   24/08/09   After some fun days in Ratcha, it was time to get back to Garikula to have more fun making work. Our first idea was to make a collaborative video and as we wanted to make something which is connected to the place we were in and the local people so we decided to record stories told to us by locals as a starting point. We were interested in how the local oral history would shape our experience and inform further ideas for the video.   We managed to find an interpreter: a law student Irina who also helped us with finding people interested in taking part (mostly retired teachers in their 80s) and later with translating the interviews for subtitles. The stories were mostly from the last 150 years, though we also heard some legends dating back to the 17th century.   Then all we had to do was find some things to film so we could illustrate and reinterpret the stories through our experience. And what could be better than a bout of Georgian wrestling? Yesterday saw a late night event pitting wrestlers from Akhalkalaki against those from nearby Akhaltsikhe (yes, there's a village close-by to right Akhalkalaki with the same name as the town close to the wrong Akhalkalaki...see post #10) which gave us some great shots. The prize in the competition was a sheep and all competitors shared it and drinks afterwards. As the only foreign guests, we were presented with leftover trophes - locally made clay pots.   Meanwhile, Alicja was inspired by the large gardens at Art Villa Garikula, the abundance of fruit everywhere we went in Georgia and the country's recent history to make an installation 'The Best Things Happen Just Before the Fall'. It took 2 days, 550 metres of fishing line and over 150 pears to complete.      ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/547936 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/547936 29/08/09Yesterday was St Mary's day, which is a significant holiday in Georgia. The Art Villa Garikula founder Karaman, Gogi Okropiridze (a Georgian artist based in Vienna) and ourselves headed out to Rkoni which is about 20km from Garikula but the drive took about an hour as was all dirt track roads. We then spent another hour changing a punctured tyre. Hundreds of people arrived, literally by the truckload, from all over the region to celebrate Mariamoba (Day of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary) and there was much feasting, drinking, dancing, singing and sacrificing of lambs and chickens - all supposedly a pre-Christian ritual. The main celebrations used to happen near the 7th century Rkoni monastery and a medieval settlement on the top of the hill but apparently it was forbidden by the church. The celebrations now spread across the beautiful Tedzami gorge on the banks of the Tedza river connected by a 12th century The Queen Tamar stone bridge.As foreign guests we were stopped and invited to join many of the supras. In fact, at one point one party was hijacked and we were taken off to another party across the river. As usual it was impossible to be anything other than completely astonished at the level of hospitality and friendliness to complete strangers and to accept the food and the toasts.Just before dusk we drove a different way home - a proper cross-country trip which involved crossing the river in a car about 10 times and speculations about the amount of petrol left... All that to see a rock hewn castle inbuilt on a top of a mountain and some caves that were used by hermits. More celebrations followed once we were at home.... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/547936 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/547936 01/09/09   Monday was time to leave Garikula - after two weeks in total it had started to feel like home but it was time to get back to the city as there were still plenty of artists to see.   We started by meeting Levan 'Gaga' Kapanadze and Giorgi Makhniashvili from Maf_media art farm who mostly work with photography and video (sometimes dabbling in VJing). The group has five core members and met on a media fine art course set up by Wato Tsereteli (and is now part of the National Art Academy). Maf are very interested in international projects and exchanges.    Later we went to see Lali, an art critic and active member of Archidrome Contemporary Art Archive, to meet some of the members of Bouillon group. The seven artists from Bouillon undertake site-specific, context-based, conceptual work. Some examples of their projects: making toys out of litter from a disused army supplies factory, training to become professional weight-lifters in a month for this year's Artisterium (they all failed so the deadline has been postponed for another month) and eating bouillon in a private flat as a performance involving the audience.   On Tuesday we took a trip to Mtskheta, the spiritual centre of Georgia and a UNESCO World Heritage site. We had a look at the Svetitskhoveli Cathedral and the regional museum. Then we climbed the hill (in a taxi) to look round Jvari monastery.   Lastly we met with Levan Maisuradze, an actor from the Margot Karabelova theatre group, who told us about the performing arts scene in Tbilisi, some of his projects and generally what it's like for emerging artists in the city.  ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/547936 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/547936 02/09/09   Wednesday was our last day in Tbilisi and the last day of the project.   We started by helping Kote with a blog before heading to the Blue Bath - a sulphur oriental bath in the old town for a 'peeling and massage' session which was by turns really nice and really painful.   Rested, we took a walk to Karvasla, a venue for this year's Artisterium and a former caravan inn for the silk road traders turned contemporary art venue which also hosts the Tbilisi History Museum. Karvasla also hosts many other significant contemporary art exhibitions and events. The space is truly amazing and due to undergo a complex refurbishment, think 4mln USD over 2 years, thick glass floors etc. There, we briefly met with Magda Guruli and Iliko Zautashvili in the midst of their preparations for Artisterium.   After a quick stop for our last meal of khinkali we had a quick look round the Arci gallery (Architecture and Development), another important point on a cultural map of Tbilisi, and dropped in on Vakho Bugadze at his studio who showed us some of his recent paintings.   Time was running out but we managed to squeeze in an on-street meeting with art historians Irina and Michiko (Lali's friends from London) and a catalogue pickup from Nana Kirmelashvili.   Lastly, there was time for a glass of wine on the balcony of Kote's friend's flat in Vake where we enjoyed a final look at the city as the sun set.   It was sad to have to leave Georgia and all the people we'd met but no-one else seemed too bothered that we were going: 'You'll be back,' they said...  ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/547936