PHOTOS FROM THE CONFERENCE
On October 15–17, 2025, the Shota Rustaveli Theatre and Film Georgia State University hosted the 18th International Scientific Conference of Art Researchers, titled “Art in the Context of Time.” This year, the conference was held with the support of UNESCO.
The official opening ceremony took place on October 15 at the Dimitri Aleksidze Training Theatre. The conference was opened by Professor Nato Genguri, the initiator and organizer of the conference since its founding in 2008. Welcome addresses were delivered by Professor Zviad Dolidze, Dean of the Faculty of Arts Science, Media, and Management, who also serves as the conference coordinator, and by several international guests: Professor Sandra Răzvana Cernat (Caragiale National University of Theatre and Film, Bucharest), Professor Iosif Astrukov (Institute of Art History, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences), Professor Marian Țuțui (Hyperion University of Bucharest), Professor Bilge Kalkavan (Hasan Kalyoncu University, Turkey), Professor Narine Sargsyan (Vice-Rector of the Yerevan State Institute of Theatre and Cinematography). In their speeches, the participants emphasized the importance of the conference not only for the development of research in the field of arts, but also for strengthening international academic and cultural cooperation, which plays a key role in the modern society.
As part of the opening day, a bilingual academic journal titled “International Journal of Arts and Media Researches — Culture in the Digital Age,” Issue #5 (15), 2025 was officially presented. The journal is based on the materials of the previous year's international conference of art researchers. The presentation was led by Professor Nato Genguri, the editor-in-chief of the journal, who highlighted its academic significance and the broad interest it has generated online. According to Google Analytics, the journal has readers across all five continents, with over 4,000 visits recorded in the past year. After Georgia, the highest levels of interest are recorded from the United States, Germany, and China, followed by other European countries.
Georgian version: https://artsmediajournal.tafu.edu.ge/en/
English version: https://artsmediajournal.tafu.edu.ge/en/
Members of the editorial board — Professor Tamar Chkheidze (Vano Sarajishvili Tbilisi State Conservatoire) and Professor Lela Ochiuri (Shota Rustaveli Theatre and Film Georgia State University) — also spoke about the significance of the journal and the conference.
The opening ceremony culminated with a speech by the Rector of the Shota Rustaveli Theatre and Film Georgia State University, Professor Giorgi Shalutashvili, who emphasized the value of international conferences and cultural exchange as essential platforms for academic collaboration and knowledge sharing in contemporary formats.
On the same day, a memorandum of cooperation was signed between the Shota Rustaveli Theatre and Film Georgia State University and the Yerevan State Institute of Theatre and Cinematography. The signing of such memoranda has become a tradition within the framework of this international forum.
The conference featured twelve thematic panels: Theatre Studies, Choreology, Film Studies, Art Studies, Media Researches, Musicology, Cultural Tourism, and Arts Management. This year, the conference hosted 71 Georgian and international scholars representing 16 universities — 8 from Georgia and 8 from abroad (including Germany, Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey, Armenia, Latvia, and others).
Panel moderators included Professors Zviad Dolidze, Lela Ochiuri, George Chartolani, Nato Genguri, and Malkhaz Gvinjilia; Associate Professors Maka Vasadze, Marine Kharatishvili, Nana Dolidze, Tamar Tsagareli, Maia Levanidze, Gvantsa Gvinjilia (Conservatoire), and Ekaterine Kiknadze; as well as Chief Researcher Irma Dolidze.
The conference was also attended by undergraduate and graduate students, who had the opportunity to engage with current artistic research and gain new insights relevant to their academic and professional development. The event received wide media coverage, including television broadcasts. See links: