This event is free.
This event is wheelchair accessible.
Resistance in Georgia continues—in the streets, in institutions, in images, bodies, and voices—but beyond the headlines here. As the authoritarian government takes ever-new measures against pluralism and spaces of freedom, this evening turns its attention to art under authoritarian pressure: Where is there room for independent art? What can it offer in opposition to the authoritarian system? And what is at stake for those who speak out against injustice?
Performance by Andro Dadiani. In the following discussion, Andro will speak with Sopio Kolkhidashvili, art historian and director of the art space Corridor in Tbilisi. Moderated by Barbara Schellewald, Professor Emerita at the University of Basel.
“Forum Osteuropa” is a series of events organized by the Osteuropa-Forum Basel that focuses on current issues in Eastern Europe. It brings voices, perspectives, and conflicts to the stage that are often overlooked by the public.
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Sopio Kolkhidashvili
Sopio Kolkhidashvili is an art historian, curator, and art consultant. She is a lecturer at Tbilisi State University and the founder of the Corridor art and education space. Her research and curatorial practice focuses on contemporary art history in post-Soviet Georgia, with a broader interest in visual culture and institutional contexts. Her work combines curatorial projects and consulting, research, and educational programs with a particular focus on building sustainable ecosystems for contemporary art.
Andro Dadiani
Andro Dadiani is a Georgian multidisciplinary artist whose work moves between word and image. His artistic process is a reflection on identity, migration, and resilience, where the personal meets the universal and becomes publicly voiced.
Since 2017, the artist has worked under a pseudonym and behind a mask. For him, this became the only way to think and exist freely in a country where difference is perceived as a threat. This repressed identity gives his work a generalized character and a strong emotional and critical force.
Andro Dadiani has published the poetry collection Purgatory and The Anthology of Georgian Queer Poetry, as well as the plays Happiness Nh2 and Passport, which have been staged in Tbilisi and Berlin. He has held two solo exhibitions. Through his performances, he often responds to the political agenda of the moment. In his practice, the artist combines poetry, performance, staged photography, and installation.
The artist is currently in Belgium with the status of a political refugee.