Tbilisi is a city of murals. How gray walls become paintings and what changes this causes in areas, says the founder of Georgia Mural Fest

Georgia Mural Fest is taking place in Tbilisi for the eighth time. The goal of the project is to transform unsightly high-rise buildings resulting from chaotic development into objects of art.

The founder of the festival, sculptor Besik Maziashvili, told Paper Kartuli how the organizers persuade residents to give up their walls for paintings, who pays for the paint and why he considers the murals a gift to the city.

How to choose a wall for a mural

- Wherever I am, I look at the walls and think what I can draw there. This is how my eye works. I think: how well we would draw something on this or that wall. In Tbilisi, architecture contributes to this. Soviet buildings are unlikely to be renovated. Murals, from this point of view, are a cheap solution to the problem; they help to ennoble the wall.

The main thing when selecting a wall is visibility, location, surface, and its technical characteristics. It is also important whether the equipment [the crane] can stand up, or whether it will be possible to hang the suspended platform from the roof.

Only then do we look at what artist is coming, how well his works correspond to the area, the characteristics of the wall, the location.

Artists' Choice

“I know almost everyone who paints murals, and even those who are just starting out. There is a core group, about 50 people. 15–20 of them left their mark in Tbilisi. It’s cool for the urban scene to be able to collect their work in one place.

By the way, if in the first year many artists refrained from coming - they participated in cool projects, and the demand for them was high - today they are already turning to us themselves.

Finance

— We have sponsors. The paints we use are German. They are expensive. The manufacturer sends them for free. City authorities also help, and sponsors also appear. Some have to be turned down because they ask for edits, use their brand colors, etc.

Impact on the city

— It’s interesting that murals also help tourism. Tourists did not go to some areas at all, but now guides organize entire tours, taking groups to look at murals. The number of works allows, the feedback is good. We don’t organize such tours ourselves yet, but when we get tired of drawing and want to rest a little, maybe we’ll arrange one.

Residents' reaction

“Many people are not interested in this at all, but it happened that residents were against it. People don’t yet fully understand that these murals are actually a gift. In such cases, we usually persuade them with practical arguments. I'm just saying that we paint the wall with high-quality German paint, so it will stay in good condition longer. And if it’s also beautiful, that’s generally good. I say: I don’t need anything from you, just be patient with us for a while, that’s all.

How much time it takes to create a mural varies. In Vazisubani, for example, we have been working for 14 days, but in some places even less is enough.

It happened the other way around, more than once. We painted a mural somewhere, and from the neighboring house they asked us to paint it for them too. In this case, we refer them to the city authorities so that they also understand that people like that there is such a request.