Old Town Studios

A Grassroots Art Gallery opens in Sighnaghi

Sighnaghi, usually a sleepy town, is currently one big construction zone. An army of construction vehicles has shattered both the pristine quiet and cobblestone streets of this fortified hill-town. Workers from all over the region commute into Sighnaghi. They are taking the city apart to put it back together – new sewage and waterways, electrical and phone lines are being laid, town center buildings are being gutted and rebuilt, and multiple main streets are being restored to an ideal vision of Sighnaghi’s antiquated self.

On one of the streets presently under heavy renovation, a different kind of cultural restoration project is underway. A collective of Sighnaghi-based artists have joined forces to open Old Town Studios, a sort of grassroots art gallery. The gallery aims to provide a place where visitors can view some of the artwork produced by Sighnaghi’s ever-growing community of artists, which in recent years has come to include artisan wood-carvers, painters, musicians, carpet- and kilim-weavers, and winemakers.

At the moment, the pitch of Baratashvili Street is a slurry of mud. A trench deep enough to swallow a man runs the length of the street. At 18 Baratashvili Street, the trench is spanned by a narrow footbridge, which leads the visitor through a white metal gate and into the courtyard of Old Town Studios.

Spearheading the collaborative effort is American painter John Henry Wurdeman, who has lived and painted in Sighnaghi for the past decade. He speaks engagingly, and his blue eyes sparkle with enthusiasm. He is wearing a pair of fuzzy brown slippers to spare the carpets and freshly-scrubbed floors. As he describes the genesis of Old Town Studios, he sits by a fire in one of the gallery hearths and pokes at burning logs with a pair of iron tongs.

During his time in Sighnaghi, Wurdeman has befriended numerous artists and musicians, many of whom found reasons to move to Sighnaghi over the years. Among the transplants to Sighnaghi are carpet-weaver David Beraia, who moved from Tbilisi, and artisan wood-carver Shergil Pirtskhelani, originally of Svaneti. Both established their own studios in Sighnaghi.

“The whole idea of the place happened very organically,” Wurdeman says. The three men were all friends, and one of the things that connected them was their shared interest in Georgia’s traditional arts. When friends came to town, they often would want to see Wurdeman’s paintings, Beraia’s carpets, Pirtskhelani’s instruments and furniture. And while their works have all been on display or for sale, at one time or another, in Tbilisi, there was nowhere in their adopted hometown where they could show and share their work.

Old Town Studios was built by the participating artists and their friends. There are plans for a finished courtyard outdoors, but for now the main attractions are all indoors, in the two finished gallery spaces, painting and weaving studios, and wine cellar.

The painting gallery displays a teasingly small array of works clearly meant to arouse, not overwhelm, the visual palette. The selection of paintings currently on display are all bound for exhibits in the United States, but those interested in rooting around for paintings to purchase can visit Wurdeman’s painting studio itself, with its much larger collection paintings, on the second floor.

Wurdeman’s painting pedigree is unusual—after enrolling at the Maryland Institute College of Art, he transferred to the Surikov Institute of Art in Moscow, where he studied under Vyacheslav Nikolaivic Zabelin. His painting career eventually led him to Sighnaghi, Georgia, where he fell in love with the landscape and culture, as well as with his future wife, musician Ketevan Mindorashvili.

The room where Wurdeman’s paintings hang is a pleasant wash of summer after the mud and snow outside. The cream-colored walls are hung with evocative impressionistic landscapes, portraits and still-lifes painted in Sighnaghi. The paintings bloom with the greens and yellows of a landscape in full flower. There are panoramas of the gardens at Bodbe monastery under a wide sky, thick canopies of trees pierced by steeples, the sunny streets and wooden balconies of Sighnaghi’s town center.

The room adjoining the painting gallery has exposed brick walls, and is hung with vivid Georgian carpets. A few representative pieces of carved wooden furniture are also on display.

The furniture is chiefly by Shergil Pirtskhelani, originally of Latali, Svaneti. Pirtskhelani is from a family of musicians and wood-carvers – he and his six brothers and one sister were all taught by their father, Romeo Pirtskhelani, who has been recognized by Georgian Orthodox Church and the Georgian government for his cultural contributions.

At the age of 17, Shergil Pirtskhelani moved to Tbilisi, where he studied art history, painting, and Georgian folk art. During an exhibition of the Pirtskhelani family’s woodwork in Tbilisi (the whole family is renowned for their wood-carving and signing), he met the John Wurdeman and Ketevan Mindorashvili, who recruited him (as well as his sister Teah and brother Shmagi) to sing in Mindorashvili’s chorus, Zedashe Ensemble. In 2002, after a US-tour with Zedashe, Pirtskhelani moved to Sighnaghi, where he has since continued to sing and make artisan furniture and traditional instruments such as chongi and chuniri. His brothers, who are wood-carvers in their own rights, often collaborate with him in his studio.

There is not a lot of woodwork on display at the moment – each piece takes a lot of time to produce, and Pirtskhelani works largely on commission. But there is an ornamented makhvshi’s throne, as well as a large, caramel-colored bed-frame with a linear ornamental design carved into it. At the center of headboard is a disc carved with sunflower-like lines curving in one direction from its heart. This disc motif—variously thought to represent the sun, the galaxy, or kindness – is an emblem common in Svanetian wood ornaments.

The traditional arts room of Old Town Studios is decidedly dominated by carpets, which represent the tip of an enormous enterprise directed by David Beraia.

Beraia worked for years as a carpet- and kilim-dealer. In recent years, he has dedicated himself to researching and reviving traditional carpet-weaving in Georgia. Beraia employs about 30 women of all ages in the greater Sighnaghi area who now make carpets in the traditional style, and he is helping to establish a center for carpet-weaving at Shuamta (near Telavi).

Beraia, a middle-aged man with a dark beard, warm expression, and intense brown eyes, describes his work with great seriousness. Resurrecting traditional carpet weaving, and reestablishing the preeminence of Georgian carpet-weaving is Beraia’s own expression of patriotism.

Georgian carpets have long been considered among the finest in the world. After World War I, many Georgian carpets came to be labeled Armenian or Azeri. “Everyone wants to claim the best as their own,” Beraia says. He adds that, while carpet-weaving was certainly a trans-caucasian phenomenon, “Georgian carpets are very different from Azeri or Armenian carpets.”

Beraia traveled to Iran, Armenia, Turkey, and around Central Asia to gather information—and carpets. And while there may be others in Georgia with a collection to rival his (though surely, he says, not many), he knows of no one else documenting the history and working on the revival of authentically Georgian carpet-weaving.

The carpets on display at Old Town Studios are vivid and bright, and Beraia’s extensive knowledge of the history and origins of his carpets make the experience of carpet-shopping pleasant and interesting for a novice. He patiently deconstructs one large carpet in Old Town Studios, pointing out how the seemingly abstract geometric shapes describe boats, the passage of time, and an elaborate sheep-skin – telling, in effect, the story of Jason and the Argonauts. Another, smaller carpet has a blood-red heart, against which background a small white hen has laid a small white egg. Before marriage, Beraia explains, a bride-to-be would make one of these small “demo” carpets in order to demonstrate her handiness, dedication, and integrity. (The hen-and-egg pattern proclaims her fertility.)

All of the carpets from Beraia’s weaving school are made using traditional materials, and all of the yarn (which mostly comes from Tusheti) is dyed using traditional methods and materials, and cost USD $300-$1,500, depending on materials, complexity and size.

Visitors to Old Town Studios may purchase one of the carpets on display or commission a carpet woven with their own choice of patterns and colors. Those interested can also arrange to take weaving lessons.

In addition to the paintings, carpets, and furniture on display, Old Town Studios has renovated the 250-year-old marani (wine cellar) beneath the gallery space. Visitors can taste Saperavi and Rikatsiteli wine from this past fall that has been made by traditional Georgian methods. The white wine has been fermented with the grape stems and skins, (rather than stripped of these tannin-producing elements as European white wines are), which yields a distinctively dark honey-colored white wine.

Gela Patalishvili, a vintner and farmer from Bodbis khevi, is the architect of Old Town Studio’s marani. He hopes to establish a solid reputation for excellent local wine, and to eventually offer agricultural tours for people interested in traditional Georgian wine-making.

The New Tourism

For many years, Sighnaghi has been something of a backpacker’s destination. Though the town, when not under heavy construction, was already picturesque and rich in history, it was lacking more upscale accommodations and places to eat. After the massive renovation project, the town will likely attract broader array of tourists – both those roughing it, and those who prefer down pillows under their heads.

And Old Town Studios is not the only bettor on Sighnaghi’s future as a tourism and cultural center. MGroup is opening the Hotel Sighnaghi in the former digs of the Intourist Hotel. In addition to khinkali and kababi cafes, Sighnaghi has two nice restaurants – Pancho Villa (Mexican - 8255 3 15 11 or 899 19 23 56) on Queen Tamar street, and an excellent Georgian restaurant overlooking the Alazani Valley (name unknown, but it’s just through the archway in the city wall on the road downhill to Tsnori), and a five-star restaurant is reportedly in the works.

“We’re taking a risk in doing this,” Wurdeman says of the grassroots art gallery, “but five years ago, we would have been insane.”

Old Town Studios will open March 3 2007.

Old Town Studios is located at 18 Baratashvili Street in Sighnaghi.
Call John Wurdeman (899 53 44 84) or Shergil Pirtskhelani (899 79 53 60). English, Georgian, and Russian spoken.

When to Visit

Old Town Studio’s inaugural weekend is March 3-4, 2007, and the studio will be open both days from 12 pm – 5 pm. There will be wine-tasting, and the artists will be on hand to talk about their work and offer studio tours.

After their opening weekend, Old Town Studios is open Fridays and Saturdays 11 am – 5 pm, and Sundays 1 pm – 5 pm, and by appointment. Large parties or those wishing to ensure a studio tours should call ahead. Call John Wurdeman (899 53 44 84) or Shergil Pirtskhelani (899 79 53 60). Both speak English and Georgian, and Wurdeman speaks Russian as well.

How to Get there

Marshrutkas run between Tbilisi and Sighnaghi several times a day. Tbilisi-Sighnaghi Marshrutkas leave from the Samgori metro station parking lot at: 9:00; 11:00; 1:00; 3:00; 6:00. Sighnaghi-Tbilisi leave from in front of the Sighnaghi post office at: 7:00; 9:00; 11:00; 1:00; 4:00; 6:00. In Sighnaghi, buy your ticket at the ticket window (inside the red brick building that abuts the parking lot) or in the parking-lot if the ticket-window is still under construction. The trips cost 5 GEL each way. Arrive early – marshrutkas leave as soon as they are full.

Sighnaghi may be on its way to having well-paved roads and broad sidewalks, but for now the streets are muddy and dominated by construction vehicles. Sturdy footwear recommended.

Where to Stay

Until the new hotel is finally open (latest reports say it will start receiving guests in April), visitors may also arrange to stay at Nana’s Family Hotel, which is located at 2 Saradjishvili Street in Sighnaghi’s city center. Call Nana Kokiashvili at 8255 3 18 29 (hotel) or 899 79 50 93 (mobile), or email her at Kkshvl@yahoo.com. Nana speaks some English, and the hotel (run from her home) is spacious, with hot water and clean, modern bathroom facilities. She can also arrange excursions to local sites of interest, including Bodbe Monastery (where St. Nino is buried) and Davit Gareji.

Published in Georgia Today, 23 Feb 2007.