Born in Tbilisi 1964, she lives and works in Tbilisi, Georgia. Nino Gunia-Kuznetsova graduated from Tbilisi State Academy of Arts in 1988. In 2004 she was awarded a scientific pedagogical title of Docent of Fine Arts. From 1991-2017 she worked in different positions and has been teaching at various universities (Tbilisi State Academy of Arts, Georgian Technical University, Shota Rustaveli State University of Theatre and Film, IB Euro-Caucasian University, Ilia Chavchavadze State University). In 2018 she became an Accreditation Expert of the National Center for Educational Quality Enhancement. In 1998 she designed and managed the project “Creation ofSpecialized–Experimental Workshop at the Faculty of Scenography and Introduction to Video Art Method” at Shota Rustaveli State University of Theatre and Film. Since 2005 Nino Gunia-Kuznetsova has served as the National Expert of the Council of Europe and is in charge of producing the National Report On the Cultural Policy of Georgia. In 2013-2016 she served as the member of the State Committee for Development of Cultural Policy and the Cultural Strategy Coordination Team of the Ministry of Culture and Monument Protection of Georgia. She participated in the development of legislative normative acts on Intangible Cultural Heritage. In 2015-2018 she led a research and monitoring project of implementation of the UNESCO Convention 2005 on Cultural Diversity. Nino Gunia-Kuznetsova is the founder and executive director of Valerian Gunia Union of Young Theatre Artists – Georgian National Center of OISTAT (1998) and the founder and art director of Tbilisi Biennial of Stage Design (2016). She is a member of the Professional Union of Georgian Artists and the Theater Union of Georgia. Since 1998 Nino Gunia-Kuznetsova has curated numerous exhibitions of stage design. On her initiative, Georgia was represented, for the first time, as an independent country at the Prague Quadrennial. She was the curator of the following exhibitions: 2019 – Georgian National Pavilion at PQ19 – “The Unlocked circle”; in 2015 – Georgian National Pavilion at PQ15 – “Woman’s voice”; in 2011 – the Georgian Student Pavilion at PQ11 – “We are such stuff as dreams are made on, and our little life is rounded with a sleep.” (W. Shakespeare’s – The Tempest); and in 2007 – the Georgian Student Pavilion at PQ07 –“Auditorium N15 -Always at the Edge” She is the author and publisher of papers and articles on scenography.
Abstract title: CONTEMPORARY GEORGIAN THEATRE – IS A POSITIVE IMPACT OF COVID-19 AN OPTION? (Curatorial observation)
This article is based on observations related to the transformation of processes taking place in Georgian theatre and attempts to consider them in curatorial practice. It also refers to reflections on the relationship between crisis, which emerged during the pandemic, and quest for new means of expression. Four projects that were presented at the Prague Quadrennial (student works at the PQ07 and PQ11, national projects at the PQ15 and PQ19) mostly focused on the change of generations in Georgian contemporary theater. The Open Circle, the Georgian national pavilion at PQ19, also demonstrated the young “Theater of New Sensitivity” (term coined by Prof. Tamara Bokuchava), – a type of collective action that was conceived on the free stages of Tbilisi in independent theaters. “Theater of New Sensitivity” is associated with self-awareness and perception of the world as they are understood by the new generation and is based on reactions and reflections about the recent history of Georgia. It follows the mythological paradigm of Prometheus and focuses on the discourse of the oppressed offering a new way to come together with like-minded people and experience a certain type of compassion.” Accordingly, the stage design of the Theater of New Sensitivity demonstrates a sensitive state of both the characters and the actors at the same time creating a minimalistic environment, which has already become a trademark of such productions. These creative reflections of young stage designers target the most difficult periods of the modern history of Georgia, the post-traumatic syndrome of the 2008 war, perception of tragic fates, interpretation of a borderline, real and surreal states, constant feeling of instability, emotional torture caused by expectation and extreme patience. This trend was relatively directly, but clearly manifested in the students’ pavilions of 2007 and 2011, as well as in the projects of other curators of PQ15 and SCENOFEST. The pandemic has contributed to an already tense atmosphere through adding anticipation of the apocalypse. However, after having introduced new conditions of extreme crisis, the lockdown led to accumulation of creative forces and reassessment of values. In this way a crisis was given a chance to be transformed into an opportunity. The pandemic has turned into a litmus of creative potential. For the state theaters, which receive their funding from stable subsidies, the pause caused by Covid-19 can only result in the loss of young viewers… For independent theaters and young artists pandemic has become a test for survival. Those who continue their professional activities are looking for ways of artistic expression that would connect them to the real world and offer opportunities to get the public and donors interested in their work. The Theater of New Sensitivity extends from one-off performances to digital and natural spaces. It adapts to different environments and acts in a survival mode. A week before the start of the Biennale, Ambassador Kachreti hosted the Mooz-Art Festival, which confirmed the opinion that we are witnessing, not only changes in the value system, but maybe also the start of a new theatrical paradigm. The pandemic is to become a catalyst of an inflicted/imposed given process…
