(closed project) Heinrich Boell Foundation`s Tbilisi office is one of the supporters of the the second edition of the Tbilisi Architecture Biennial (TAB), which is conceived under the name What Do We Have in Common. 2020 program proposes to take a closer look at the notion of commonness in our increasingly individualized and fragmented societies by investigating its definition and translating it into urban fabric, which after dramatic collapse of the Soviet Union and birth of “post-socialist” states had to undergo an inevitable but painful transformation from planned to market economy resulting in emergence of city’s new cultural norms and its urban structure. A “collectively” organized society became increasingly individualized turning its planned urban spaces into more fragmented and divided ones. Entire processes of urban and socio-economic transition seemed to forget the feeling of common space and its collectivity. Spaces of common inhabitation and collective use became mostly infrastructural locations of transition and uninterrupted functionality.
The impact of COVID-19 raises new questions about the role of common spaces. What is the effect of restrictions related to public spaces on society? How can we uphold a sense of community that goes beyond borders in the midst of growing nationalism? In times of closing borders, increasingly restrictive migration policies, and fragile states, it is essential to examine practices of exclusion and their consequences. This includes analyzing how the new reality of a divided continent manifests itself in public spaces.
The second edition of the Tbilisi Architecture Biennial will be carried out in a digital space where the website will become the main platform of the event. It will incorporate various media in order to support diverse formats of events. Shifting the Biennial online will ensure a wider outreach and participation on a global scale. It will become a transcontinental event, activating different places worldwide and spilling its activities beyond Tbilisi.
Tbilisi Architecture Biennial will take place from October 17 to November 8, 2020. In the frameworks of TAB 2020 program, Heinrich Boell Foundation supports a workshop-Metaform-Critical Analysis of Georgian Architecture, few lectures and panel discussions.