The State Silk Museum in Tbilisi will open its temporary exhibition “TEXTERE” on October 19, offering visitors a unique journey through history, memory, and material. The exhibition will be on view until December 20, in the museum’s temporary exhibition hall.
The show presents a sketch-like introduction to the museum’s collection of industrial fabrics, featuring samples of Soviet textiles produced at the Tbilisi Silk Weaving Factory between the 1950s and 1990s. Many of these pieces had remained stored in the museum’s attic for decades and were rediscovered during the pandemic in 2021. This archival material became the basis for artistic and curatorial research, inspiring a range of creative initiatives.
Among the featured projects is the research of artist Nino Kvrivishvili, who explores the Tbilisi Silk Weaving Factory and the lives of the people who worked in the textile industry. Her work examines the interconnection between memory, labor, individual lives, and material, giving the historical fabrics new meaning and relevance.
The exhibition also introduces Guram Tsibakhashvili’s authorial project “Once” to the museum for the first time. Inspired by an archive of old postcards, the project captures the relationship between memory and time, much like the industrial textile samples themselves. Additionally, a special letter corner invites visitors to creatively share their own stories and recollections, making the exhibition an interactive platform of exchange.
“TEXTERE” continues the museum’s exploration of the theme of “lost and found”, asking how we analyze collective and individual memory and how we imagine the tactile experience of a specific historical epoch. Here, textures transform into both physical and emotional matter, carrying time, labor, and memories interwoven between objects.
Curated under the supervision of Mariam Shergelashvili, the exhibition is realized as part of the museum’s ongoing exhibition internship program, featuring contributions from interns Nini Bekauri, Anano Gogichadze, Ninutsa Lekishvili, Nini Mamuladze, and Sali Khizanishvili.
Visitors can experience the exhibition from October 19 to December 20, with the opening event scheduled from 17:00 to 19:00 at 6 Tsabadze Street.
“TEXTERE” invites audiences to step into a space where fabric becomes a living archive of memory and creativity, bridging the past with the present through the tactile and emotional dimensions of material culture.
