Common Ground: workshop by Aitsona Daitsona

Common ground with ‘Aitsona-Daitsona’ and schools of Abkhazia

As a result of the collaboration between the Ministry of Education of Abkhazia and the Tbilisi Public Art Fund, the organization ‘Aitsona-Daitsona’ developed a one-month program for students from Abkhazian Schools № 2 and №3.

Instead of being held in schools, these meetings took place in Mziuri Park, at the exhibition and educational space ‘Cube in Context’. ‘Cube Context’ is a public multidisciplinary art space that includes a contemporary art gallery and shared workspace, situated in the former cable car station of Mziuri. Collaborating with public educational initiatives and introducing these spaces to schoolchildren is particularly important for the fund’s educational program. ‘Aitsona-Daitsona’ is Georgia's first emancipatory children's theatre, focused on integrating theatre with education. Their primary method involves working with children and young people on an equal, horizontal basis, considering the students' ideas, problems, and interests, and seeking creative solutions together.

The theme of the meetings for the students of Abkhazian Schools № 2 and №3 was ‘City and Children’ — exploring what they see in Tbilisi, what they like and dislike, and what changes they would make in the city. The students imagined themselves as members of a traveling theatre that arrives in the city. After characterizing and drawing the city environment, they chose characters—who lives in this city, and what stories do these creatures or spaces tell? A stray dog or an abandoned house. This exploration of connections and psychogeography revealed several interesting and problematic issues. At the end of the meetings, the students wrote a poem based on their notes.