Lecture: Ilia Chkheidze, State, Capital and Culture, Historical Transformations

Tbilisi Public Art Fund is pleased to present a public lecture by Ilia Chkheidze titled “State, Capital, and Culture: Historical Transformations.” Admission is free. The event will be conducted in Georgian.

The lecture will examine the complex interplay between power, economy, and culture from a historical perspective. Its theoretical framework is grounded in the concept of capital, understood as encompassing economic, cultural, social, and symbolic resources that function as mechanisms for the reproduction of social structures and hierarchies. Historical examples—including Medici patronage during the Renaissance, modernization in the Meiji era, and post–Second World War European reconstruction—clearly illustrate how states and economic elites have employed culture to consolidate political legitimacy, economic advantage, and ideological hegemony.

In the contemporary context, the lecture will critically address the homogenization of cultural diversity driven by globalization, the commodification of art, and the speculative logic of the market. These processes raise fundamental questions regarding the autonomy of culture, artistic freedom, and the transformation of value systems.

Ilia Chkheidze holds a Master’s degree in Public Policy from the Central European University (Vienna) and is a lecturer at the Georgian Institute of Public Affairs (GIPA). His academic interests focus on public policy and economic development, particularly the impact of free trade and migration. Ilia is actively engaged in teaching and research and participates in discussions on socio-economic issues both in Georgia and internationally.

The preparation of the lecture was supported by Gvantsa Chanturia, a second-year student of Political Science.