Info

Tbilisi Public Art Fund is a grant-giving organization, projects supported by the institution are selected through open calls. The organization announces two types of competitions: ‘Promotion of temporary projects in public space’ and ‘Promotion of permanent projects in public space’.

The team pre-selects the location in different districts of Tbilisi and sets the open call conditions, including the budget. The competitions are composed in accordance with the general goals and objectives of the institution and are largely aimed at promoting contemporary art.

Legal entities and entrepreneurial legal entities registered in Georgia have the right to participate in the competition. The competition documentation must be presented in accordance with the open call requirements, in Georgian language. In case of foreign language documentation, a translation into Georgian language is necessary, except for documents in English.

The proposed projects must be site-specific and must reflect contemporary artistic processes and current creative discourses. The submitted project proposal should not discriminate based on race, skin colour, gender, origin, ethnic affiliation, language, religion, political or other opinions, social affiliation, property or rank, place of residence or any other sign. The use of hate speech in the competition application is not allowed.

The application must be developed on a case-by-case basis with specialists from various fields, often architects and engineers, to consider the scale and technical aspects of the location. This includes safety regulations and the specifics of installing a large-scale work in a public space.

Applications, including the list of requested documents, should be sent to the indicated e-mail address (info@tpa.fund) before the open call deadline. Late applications will not be accepted. An applicant can submit only one application; if more than one proposal is submitted, none of the proposals will be considered.

The organisation checks the received applications during the seven (7) working days following the deadline. If an application does not comply with the established requirements and/or the required documentation is fully or partially missing, the fund will notify the interested entity and give no more than three (3) working days to complete and correct the documents. If the applicant fails to comply, the application will not be evaluated.

The competition results will be announced no later than twenty-five (25) working days after the end of the open call. Submitted applications will be reviewed by a jury pre-approved by the Tbilisi Public Art Fund director. The jury consists of six members—representatives of Tbilisi City Hall, the Tbilisi Municipal Assembly, and the fund—as well as three invited jury members who are representatives of the contemporary art scene.

Applications are evaluated on the basis of predetermined criteria corresponding to the goals and priorities of the institution and may vary from competition to competition. The maximum score per criterion is five (5). Scores are added together, and the winning application is the one that receives the highest total score. In the event of a tie, preference will be given to the applicant who receives the majority of jury votes.

Jury members are obliged to maintain confidentiality and must not disclose information related to the course of the competition either before or after the official announcement of the results. The final announcement of the open call results will be made after the procedures stipulated by law are completed. Applicants will be notified of the outcomes in writing.

In cases stipulated by law, the winning entity must obtain and submit permits from the relevant services. The Tbilisi Public Art Fund logo must be placed on all communication materials (printed and digital) related to the winning project, and the organisation must be mentioned as the project supporter in all informational videos.

The artwork created as a result of the winning project in the “Promotion of Temporary Projects in Public Space” competition remains the property of the artist. The artist is obliged to indicate the Tbilisi Public Art Fund as the project supporter when exhibiting the work or publishing photo or video materials depicting the artwork.

The artwork created as a result of the winning project in the “Promotion of Permanent Projects in Public Space” competition becomes the property of the Tbilisi Public Art Fund and is added to the institution’s collection. The work will continue to be exhibited to support the goals of the Public Art Fund. The artist retains copyright, and any future changes to the work must be agreed in advance with the artist.

The fund has the right to use photo and video materials of the work realised as a result of the winning projects in the competitions as needed.

Funding administration

The organisation is authorized to issue funding in stages. The applicant receives reimbursement in accordance with the fulfilment of the obligation under the contract, based on the act of acceptance and handover signed between the parties no later than 10 (ten) working days after signing the documents. Prepayment (advance payment) can be used in the amount of no more than 80% of the total value of the contract, in case the applicant can provide unclaimable bank guarantee, the validity period of which should exceed the term of performance of obligations under the contract by at least 30 calendar days. A bank guarantee must be presented from a banking institution licensed by the National Bank of Georgia, in the national currency - GEL. The entity receiving financing must use the advance amount only to fulfil the obligations under the agreement signed between the parties. The entity receiving financing is obliged to spend the funds in a targeted manner, in accordance with the agreement signed between the fund and the entity and the applicable legislation of Georgia.

Reporting

After completing the project and completing all the stages as stated in the agreement, the entity receiving funding must submit to the organisation, in accordance with the agreement signed between the parties, copies of documents confirming targeted spending, as well as information in accordance with the form of the performance report approved by the order of the director of the fund no later than 10 (ten) calendar days. The financial report must be presented in accordance with the contract.