The original exhibition "Sukhum Art Nouveau" was opened in the capital of Abkhazia.
The exhibition "Sukhum Art Nouveau" opened in the capital of Abkhazia in the last decade of June. Within a few days, dozens of people visited the exhibition, leaving many positive reviews. The main exposition is photographs of buildings and houses in Sukhum, taken by the editor-in-chief of the WAC information portal, a well-known photographer in Abkhazia, Naala Avidzba.
"Sukhum Art Nouveau" was organized by young architects Sabina Agrba and Lana Chkhindzheria, who work in the Department for the Protection of Historical and Cultural Heritage of the Ministry of Culture of Abkhazia.
According to the organizers, the exhibition was held thanks to the AMSHRA foundation, which is headed by Beslan Agrba, a member of the Supreme Council of the WAC, Chairman of the Moscow Abkhazian Diaspora, philanthropist.
Sabina Agrba says with enthusiasm that the exhibition is very popular among visitors. The architect believes that the attention to the exhibition exceeds the expectations of those who came up with the event and organized it.
The very idea of the exhibition "was born out of love for Sukhum". Sabina and Lana are friends, they often walk around the Abkhazian capital, study its architecture and "have been in love with this town for a long time."
"We took photos of buildings from the Art Nouveau era. We wanted to immerse our visitors in this era, that is why the old gramophone plays atmospheric music, we hold creative evenings here, we show Art Nouveau movies," said Agrba.
The exhibition takes place at the former Dunder dacha. Wilhelmina Adolfovna Dunder is a certain lady who, at the end of the 19th century, acquired a plot of land at the foot of Mount Hatua (at that time - Trapezium - ed.) and in 1898 built a two-story mansion on this plot. A park of amazing beauty was laid out on the territory adjacent to it.
The building of the mansion itself can be safely attributed to one of the main exhibits of the exhibition. It is raised above ground level to a height of about a meter. The mansion is made in a mixed architectural style, there are elements of neoclassicism and rationalist modernism. The asymmetry of the plan, the whimsical tower and the bay window are taken from the Art Nouveau. From neoclassicism, in turn, were adopted decorative elements and order columns. Today the building is poorly maintained, but in the summertime it houses the Union of Writers of Abkhazia.
The co-organizer of the exhibition, Lana Chkhindzheria, says that at first the architects planned to hold an exhibition in the house of Georgy Chachba (the son of the last ruler of Abkhazia, Mikhail Georgievich Chachba and Princess Alexandra (Tsutsu, Caesarea) Georgievna Dadiani - ed.). However, due to the fact that that building is in disrepair and it is not safe for a large number of people to visit it, it was decided to hold an exhibition at Dunder Dacha.
"This is a unique place, a unique building. It was here that Art Nouveau was born," adds Chkhindzheria.
Following her colleague, she notes that the residents and guests of the capital fell in love with the exhibition, it aroused vivid interest.
"Sukhum Art Nouveau" is a place for recreation, education and cultural pastime. We have lectures, which are read by Sukhum experts, film screenings, literary evenings," she shares the details.
Commenting on her participation in the event, the author of photographs Naala Avidzba admits that she had the idea of such an exhibition all along.
"For me, this exhibition is, in a sense, a return to my childhood, because I grew up in these ancient districts of Sukhum. I grew up on Lasuria Street, and this atmosphere has been familiar to me since childhood. I remember these mansions, I remember the people who lived in them, but already in the Soviet period. It is clear that all these houses underwent great transformations during the Soviet Union: they were turned into communal apartments, and a completely different way of life was there, but nevertheless, there was always a unique atmosphere," the photographer shares.
According to the figurative assessment of one of the visitors, the mood of the exhibition "falls right into the heart."
Visitor Anna Shakaya continues the idea of the creators of the exhibition about love for Sukhum as a driving force, only from its own side: it was this love that brought her to the exhibition. Anna saw photos from the exhibition on the Internet and decided to visit it.
"The history of our town is very interesting and colorful. I liked the exhibition very much. We were on the roof with an amazing view of Sukhum. In general, the atmosphere at the exhibition is unique, it is a pleasure to be here. I recommend everyone to visit it," she said.
The exhibition began its work on June 10 and will run until June 23. You can visit it every day from 11 am to 7 pm. You can also take part in creative evenings held within the framework of the exhibition.
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