20th Century Georgian Advertising (29 Photos)

Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia has become a Transcaucasian hub in the 19th century. During this time a lot of social, political, economic and cultural changes took place. The oriental Tbilisi became a mix of the West and the East and the center of South Caucasus.

Capitalism was rapidly developing in the Russian Empire and so it was in Georgia (The country was annexed by the Russian Empire). New industrial enterprises appeared, a railway connecting Tbilisi and Poti was built. Banks were founded, workshops, department stores and exhibition halls were built. During this time new magazines, newspapers, science and art centers and societies came to life. Art exhibitions were held, the national theater was reborn. All of these establishments needed advertisement to reach out to public. So here they are – 29 examples of 20th Century Georgian Advertising. All of the images are taken from the book Old Tbilisi published in 1984 by “Sabchota Sakartvelo” Publishing House.

The Georgia Theater

Young filmmakers in Kakheti

I was invited to Telavi (Administrative center of Kakheti) to attend a screening of short movies created by local students. The event was organized by a Center for Civic Engagement and it gathered people from all town.

Zura and Rati Tegerashvili are twin brothers who just moved to eleventh grade and they have been shooting films (mostly silent movies) for quite some time. As they have said in their presentation one of the reasons was an absence of a movie theater in town. “We started filming to entertain our Facebook friends, we could have never thought that our movies would be so successful,” they say.

Georgia to host 2015 European Youth Olympic Festival

On November 26-27, 39th European Olympic Committees (EOC) assembly was held in Belgrade, Serbia. It was attended by 49 National Olympic Committees. During the second day of works assembly has elected the cities that will host 2015 European Youth Olympic Festivals (EYOF). The 12th winter festival will take place in Austria and Liechtenstein. The bid for 13th summer festival was won by Tbilisi, Georgia against Brno, Czech Republic, who were competing for the second time. Tbilisi received 26 votes as opposed to 21 that was given to Brno. According to insidethegames, despite negative relations, Georgia’s bid was supported by a Russian delegation too.

The assembly was attended by a wide Georgian delegation, including Olympic champions, dancers and singers who have staged a 10 minute show. Mayor of Tbilisi – Gigi Ugulava was one of the attendees who expressed his readiness to hold the festival in 2015.

ილია ცინაძის დედა ენა

ილია ცინაძე საქართველოში დაიბადა, ხოლო როდესაც 8 წლის იყო, ოჯახთან ერთად საცხოვრებლად აშშ-ში გადავიდა. მას შემდეგ ილიას ქართულ კულტურუსთან და განსაკუთრებით ქართულ მუსიკასთან კავშირი არ გაუწყვიტავს. ილია 13 წლის იყო, როდესაც მშობლებმა პირველი გიტარა უყიდეს. სკოლის დამთავრების შემდეგ მან სწავლა უილიამ პეტერსონის უნივერსიტეტში განაგრძო, სადაც იგი ჯაზს სწავლობდა. ცინაძე საქართველოს 2005 წელს ეწვია, სადაც მან თავის მუსიკალური მემკვიდრეობა აღმოაჩინა, იგი შეხვდა რამდენიმე მუსიკოსს და გადაწყვიტა ქართული სიმღერა შეესწავლა. ილიამ, ოჯახისა და მეგობრების დახმარებით თავი მოუყარა რამდენიმე ისტორიასა თუ სიმღერას და გადაწყვიტა ისინი ამერიკელი პუბლიკისთვის გაეცნო.

 

ილია ცინაძის ბენდი (ფოტო ილიას ვებ-გვერდიდან http://www.ilusha.com)

ილიამ შექმნა ბენდი, რომელიც ექვსი წევრისგან შედგება, ესენი არიან: რიჩი ბარშეი (დრამი), ქრის თორდინი (კონტრაბასი), რობ ჰექთი (ვიოლინო), ლიამ რობინსონი (აკორდეონი) და ვოკალისტი – ჯინ რო. ამჟამად ისინი თავიანთ პირველ პროექტზე – დედა ენაზე მუშაობენ, ამ ალბომში 8 ტრადიციული ქართული და ილიას მიერ დაწერილი 2 სიმღერა შევა.

Ilusha Tsinadze’s Mother Tongue

Ilusha Tsinadze was born in Georgia. When he was 8 years old he and his family moved to USA. Since then Ilusha has maintained strong ties with Georgian culture, especially Georgian music. Tsinadze was 13 years old when parents bought him his first guitar, and that’s when his journey began. After a graduation from high school Ilusha was accepted to William Paterson University, where he studied jazz. In 2005 Tsinadze visited Georgia and discovered his musical heritage. He met several musicians in Georgia and decided to learn some of the songs. Ilusha began to collect stories and songs from his relatives and became inspired to share Georgian music with an American audience.

Ilusha Tsinadze's Band (from http://www.ilusha.com)

Ilusha Tsinadze created a band that features Richie Barshay (drums), Chris Tordini (bass), Rob Hecht (violin and bass clarinet), Liam Robinson (accordion), and guest vocalist Jean Rohe (Ilusha’s girlfriend). Currently they’re working on their first project called Mother Tongue (Deda Ena). The album will feature 8 Georgian traditional songs and 2 of Ilusha’s own compositions.