Putting Georgia on the mural map again!
It’s the 4th year in a row since the Georgian city of Tbilisi played host to the Tbilisi Mural Fest (TMF). Within those 4 years, apart from the copious amounts of supported Montana BLACK and GOLD cans used, a monumental effort has been made to beautify the city with world-class murals by local and international artists. 2022 was no exception.
4 years and more than 40 murals later
With more than 40 murals now bracing the city’s walls, the transformation of static gray, to an explosion of dynamic multi-color has occurred like a caterpillar leaving the cocoon as a butterfly. And with the results of 2022’s works, it looks like the trend will continue. Not to mention putting the spotlight on Georgia and Tbilisi as a travel destination for the art savvy or the urban inclined. This year TMF welcomed the artists Fintan Magee, VESOD, Sasha Korban, David Machavariani, Luis Gomez de Teran, ARTEZ, KERA, Mohamed l’Ghacham, and Tina Chertova whose work can be found in various points around the city.
The topic of the Russia/Ukraine conflict was unignorable
Although the artists are free to create murals of any orientations they like, this year the topic of the Russian/Ukrainian conflict was present. Unignorable, invasion is a topic that the Georgian people can relate to with personal experience. As such attention was given to Ukrainian artists who were given a stage to express their situation, their art, and their feelings. The Ukrainian artist Sasha Korban replied with a portrait of a Ukrainian woman in traditional clothing right in front of the Russian embassy. TMF 2022 also brought with it other firsts including the very first installation work by Gomez.
The struggle continues as TMF moves from strength to strength. Cliches aside, watch this space to see how TMF grows and develops in 2023.
All images by TBILISI MURAL FEST