GeoAIR, starting point

Dear colleagues, friends and relations:

In August 2005 we: Sophia Tabatadze (Tbilisi-based artist) and Freya van Dien, (Rotterdam-based organizer in the field of art), decided to make a plan for setting up an artist-in-residence in Tbilisi, Georgia. During Freya’s first visit to Tbilisi in October, we received the good news that the Dutch Fund for Visual Arts, Design and Architecture (FondsBKVB) granted us a subsidy for the necessary research to realize the project.
The first reactions to the initiative, by people from the local Tbilisi art scene, the art academy and the Dutch embassy, are supportive of the goals of the project.
Geoair.blogspot.com will keep you up to date on the projects developments. If you know anyone who might be interested in this project, please pass it on. And, if you have any questions or remarks, feel free to contact us at: infogeoair@gmail.com

Best,
Sophia Tabatadze & Freya van Dien



Research year 2006.
The central question for the project is: What methods and platforms offer the best format for an exchange between professionals from the art world when they find themselves in a different cultural context? In this project, we hope to develop a vision for the cultural and social value of cultural exchange in Tbilisi, and how this exchange can become of sustainable value.

In the research period of 2006, the focus is on 6 aspects of the project:

1. The content of the residence: How can we introduce urgent and relevant cultural issues and connect the visiting professionals to those issues? How can we organize a long-term development on what is important to the context (Georgia & Tbilisi) in this exchange project?
2. Conceptual development towards the social changes that are taking place in this part of the world or in similar regions. What is the best way to relate this “bigger picture” to the context of the residency?
3. Relation between the context of the residence and the facilities that could be provided to artists.
4. Guidelines and methods for selecting professional artists.
5. Building a network of engaged people and organizations that can support the project on the level of content, PR, communication and funding.
6. Setting up a small organization to run the residency.