Events

On September 23, at 2:00 p.m., the Soviet Past Research Laboratory (Sovlab) will launch a photo exhibition at Ilia State University (Building A lobby) featuring previously unknown photos from the Nikoladze-Gambashidze family collection, curated by eminent Georgian photographer Guram Tsibakhashvili.

The glass negatives that Sovlab acquired from one of the descendants of the family, depict some of the key political events of the beginning of the 20th century, including the Georgian independence period.

During the 70 years of Georgia's stay in the Soviet Union, the Soviet totalitarian system systematically eliminated not only undesirable individuals but also visual material depicting non-Soviet reality and events, which did not correspond to official propaganda narratives. The Soviet regime aimed to create a new Soviet reality and erase the memory of non-Soviet, non-totalitarian existence.

The Soviet Russian occupation regime kept the photographs and films depicting various key events of the political or public life of independent Georgia in the archives or took them to Moscow as "evidence.”  As a result, many such events have vanished from collective memory or survived only in fragments despite being captured in photographs and film tapes at the time.

In order to even partially fill the gaps in memory, the previously completely unknown photo heritage of the Nikoladze-Gambashidze family is invaluable.

Niko Nikoladze, one of the key figures in the history of Georgia’s European aspirations, was passionate about photography and passed on his knowledge of this art to his children: Giorgi, Tamar, and Rusudan. Giorgi Nikoladze, a pioneer of the Georgian scientific school of mathematics, engineering, mountaineering, and gymnastics, was married to Georgeta Gambashidze, whose father, Vakhtang Gambashidze - a doctor, educator, and political figure, was also passionate about photography, and his daughter also followed in his footsteps. Almost all the key events of the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century came through the lens of the Nikoladze-Gambashidze family.

The exhibition and discussion are held within the framework of “The Memory Project:  Face-based Countering of Soviet Nostalgia and Russian Historical Revisionism,” organized by Ilia State University. The organizations involved:  Harvard University, Soviet Past Research Laboratory (Sovlab), Institute for Development of Freedom of Information, Museum of Georgian Literature, PEN Georgia, Iliauni Center for Memory Studies, Writers' House, and the National Foundation of Georgia. The project is funded by the US Embassy in Georgia.

Date/Time: September 23, 2:00 p.m.

Location:  Ilia State University, Building A (lobby), 32 Ilia Chavchavadze Avenue

Everyone interested is welcome.

2024