Thursday, July 14, 2016
Opening 20.07.2016 - 18:00
20-30.07.2016 / 12:00-18:00
Tbilisi Chess Palace and Alpine Club in Vere Garden (Kostava St. 37)

 
Tbilisi Chess Palace and Alpine Club opened in 1973 in Kirov (today’s Vere) Park. It is one of the unique examples of late Soviet Modernist architecture. Creating the spaces of public use was one of the main principles of Modernist architecture. The social function of precisely and distinctly thought architecture excluded autonomous occupants. In case of this building, as well as the general situation show a contrary situation. Spaces that are adjusted to individual demand emerge everywhere.
 
The project “8x8. The Future that Never Happened” is not only about the Chess Palace and the Alpine Club, and its unique architecture. Also, it is not just about chess and its history in Georgia. It is an attempt to observe one particular edifice and its surrounding, and accordingly comprehend those system mechanisms that Georgia has been going through, and those political, economical, social and other impact they have been making during and after the Soviet Union. The same system mechanisms influence the existence of art in the same way. Thus the project also observes and analyses the environment, in which contemporary art has to exist today; especially art that reacts on the happenings and the processes around it, and is socially and politically active and engaged. However, art does not always precisely represent the reality. Art has an ability to (re)think and allegorically, symbolically interpret different events or themes. This is exactly one of the reasons why Tbilisi Chess Palace has become the theme of our research and project.
 
This building represents an example reflecting both, the architectural principles of Modernism and the socio-economic processes that have been taking place since the 90s. On one hand, the precisely examined purpose of the building, the rational use of material and openness is underestimated, though still make it worthy among the list of monuments of architecture from this period. Its later transformation based on the needs, desires or taste of temporary owners or tenants absolutely opposes the initial holistic idea and represents the chaos, which is very characteristic to the everyday of many countries in the last three decades. It is also an interesting fact that like architecture, chess and mountaineering are characterized by foresight and strategic thinking. However, evidentially this is not present in the building nowadays and in the attitude of its owners or temporary tenants. “Today and for me” is an exact character of the society that we live in nowadays.
 
The project is based on textual or visual documents and facts found in public or personal archives and also on the narratives of people who are connected to the building and/or the theme. The exhibition presents historical material, as well as the works created with the interpretation of the project author and the participating artists.
 
Curated by Nini Palavandishvili in collaboration with Lena Prents
 
Participants:

David Bergé and Nadia Tsulukidze, Data Chigholashvili, Yip Kai Chun, Nutsa Esebua, Atu Gelovani, Lasha Kabanashvili, Lado Lomitashvili, Paran Pour, Iza Tarasewicz

Program of additional activities:

David Bergé - Tbilisi Walk, guided by Nadia Tsulukidze, 100 min, in silence
To participate, please sign up at the exhibition or complete online forms provided on our facebook page.
Everyday - 10:00
 
Yip Kai Chun - Chess Palace Chess, Installation, Game
Everybody who plays chess at least on an amateur level can participate in the game.
24,30.07.2016 - 13:00, Vere Garden
 
Data Chigholashvili - Confused tour in Tbilisi Chess Palace and Alpine Club
To participate, please sign up at the exhibition or complete online forms provided on our facebook page.
in Georgian - 21,24.07.2016 / 16:00
in English - 23,27.07.2016 / 16:00
 
Fiction and documentary film program
- Chess and History
Letter to Children, Lana Gogoberidze. Documentary film, 1981, 50 min.
A Lantern in the Wind, Nodar Omiadze. Fiction film, 1987, 55 min.
The Georgian Gambit, Nikoloz Tsuladze. Documentary film, 1992, 30 min.
 
- Chess and Ideology
Chess Fever, Vsevolod Pudovkin. Silent film, 1925, 28 min.
Dangerous Moves, Richard Dembo. Fiction film, 1984, 110 min.
Pawn Sacrifice, Edward Zwick. Fiction film, 2014, 115 min.
- Chess and Women
Queen To Play, Caroline Bottaro. Fiction film, 2011, 97 min.
The Break, Baadur Tsuladze. Fiction film, 1978, 20 min.
22,23,29.07.2016 - 18:00,
Tbilisi Chess Palace, Big Hall
 
Special thanks for providing
Archive material:
George Chubinashvili National Research Centre for Georgian Art History and Heritage Preservation, Georgian Sport Museum, National Scientific Library - Georgia, The National Archives of Georgia
 
Private archive material:
Elguja Berishvili, Lana Gogoberidze, David Gurgenidze, Germane Ghudushauri, Oleg Kochakidze and Alexander Slovinsky
 
and for support to:
Georgian Chess Federation, Georgian Alpine Club, Tbilisi International Chess Academy, Nana Aleksandria, Marika Didebulidze, Nona Gaprindashvili, David Gurgenidze, Marina Milorava, Tatia Skhirtladze, Europe House Georgia, Photographic Expanded and VGC
 
Also used materials from The National Archives of Georgia 
 
Iza Tarasewicz's work "Knight's Tour", realised in the framework of the project BLUE BOX. „Common places” in contemporary artistic practices, was co-financed by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of the Republic of Poland.
Yip Kai Chun's "The Tbilisi Chess Palace" was supported by the Hong Kong Arts Development Council and the Arts Development Fund of the Home Affairs Bureau, the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.