Block 76

Residential buildings lined up in former Soviet micro-districts of Tbilisi have been built upon an idealistic vision of a happy collective life. But, the buildings were not enough to ensure the well-being of residents, and in a similar vein the micro-districts and the social housing were not enough for the creation of collectivism. As soon as the buildings and their residents got rid of the obligation to create socialist sentiments, the buildings began to transform according to the logic of individual requests for amenities and beautification.

Block 76 is participatory and community art project that takes place in the residential paneled block of building #76 in Gldani micro-district. The project is aimed at opening up private living spaces for visitors, bringing together artists and residents, establishing culture of neighbor festival and bringing and sanctifying art into private dwelling space. In the project the artists do not serve to create a utopian reality, but a shared social environment. Building 76 asks the question, who is the artist? The host who allows an artist to bring artwork into his/her own particular spatial domestic creation? Or the artist who transforms a private space into a shared social space? Here the work-status of the artist and the host is equal, just as is the relationship between the Gldani Architecture Biennial and the Gldani micro-district itself, the Soviet sleeping quarter, and all of the city’s historical urban spaces.

Block 76 took place within the scope of Tbilisi Architecture Biennial. The exhibition showed artworks of 24 local and international artists done in collaboration with the residents of the building.