GIFT was created so the world’s artists would come to Tbilisi — at a time when Georgian artists could barely travel — and has brought them every autumn since 1997.
Mission
GIFT — Georgian International Festival of Arts
The Georgian International Festival of Arts carries the name of Mikheil Tumanishvili, the director who shaped modern Georgian theatre and mentored the festival’s founding artistic director, Keti Dolidze.
The first edition, in 1997, brought around 220 artists from 18 countries. There were no participation fees, and many of the visitors were hosted by Tbilisi families. International friends — among them Peter Brook and William Burdett-Coutts — helped the festival into being.
Halted for several years and revived in 2013, GIFT describes itself as the longest-running international arts festival in the Caucasus. It presents theatre, dance and music from across the world alongside new Georgian work, and awards the Mikheil Tumanishvili Prize for Excellence in Art.
The festival is supported by the Ministry of Culture of Georgia and Tbilisi City Hall, and works with embassies and cultural institutes on its country focuses. It received the EFFE Label 2019–2021.
Team
Keti Dolidze
Founding Artistic Director
Actor and director, a student of Mikheil Tumanishvili from 1968, who has led GIFT since its first edition in 1997.
Beso Danelia
Festival designer
Venues
- Tbilisi Opera and Ballet Theatre25 Shota Rustaveli AvenueMap ↗
- Marjanishvili Theatre8 Kote Marjanishvili StreetMap ↗
- Rustaveli Theatre17 Shota Rustaveli AvenueMap ↗
- Tumanishvili Film Actors Theatre164 David Agmashenebeli AvenueMap ↗
- Silk Factory StudioMap ↗
- Tbilisi State Conservatoire8 Griboedov StreetMap ↗
- Griboedov Theatre2 Shota Rustaveli AvenueMap ↗
