Tbilisi’s art scene has a compelling reason to step out tonight. At 20:00, the Art Foundation Anagi opens “Nino Popkhadze – Four Monologues,” an exhibition that brings the long-forgotten work of Nino Popkhadze (1916–2001) back into the public eye and pairs it with new pieces by contemporary Georgian artists Anuk Beluga, Giorgi Kontridze, and Luiza Laferadze.
Popkhadze, once familiar to generations of Soviet-era readers, created illustrations for children’s books and fairy tales that remain strikingly fresh and expressive today. Her playful, modern visual language – developed during a time of Soviet censorship, when book illustrators enjoyed relative creative freedom – makes her work feel unexpectedly contemporary. Tonight’s exhibition offers a rare chance to see these illustrations outside the archive and in dialogue with living artists responding to her legacy from today’s perspective.
Born in Tbilisi and trained at the Tbilisi Academy of Arts, Popkhadze illustrated beloved titles such as Georgian Folk Tales, The Flea and the Ant, Nikoloz Baratashvili’s Fate of Kartli, and many others. Although she exhibited regularly throughout the 20th century, her work has long gone underrecognized. This exhibition marks her first major public presentation in decades.
Much of Popkhadze’s archive is safeguarded by the Art Foundation Anagi, which focuses on reviving overlooked Georgian artists and reconnecting gaps in the country’s cultural history. “Four Monologues” is part of this ongoing effort, inviting viewers to rediscover an artist whose voice nearly disappeared.
If you’re in Tbilisi tonight, this exhibition is an engaging and meaningful stop on the city’s cultural map. The opening takes place at the Art Foundation Anagi Archive Exhibition Space, located at 12 Zurab Avalishvili Street, Park Home Vake. Admission is free, and all are welcome to join.
