Ajam Podcast #5: Urbanism & Informality in Post-Soviet Tbilisi
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- byRustin Zarkar
- 2 minute read
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Georgia
8 posts
The Bard of the Caucasus: Armenian, Azeri, and Georgian Legacies of Sayat Nova
If Sayat Nova wrote hundreds of songs in Armenian, Azeri, and Georgian, then why are the cross-cultural celebrations of Sayat Nova so few and far between? Gaps in the historical record and contemporary political environment make a pancultural perspective of the legendary bard of the Caucasus more difficult.
Lived Cosmopolitanisms: An AjamMC/THE STATE Zine
Ajam Media Collective recently worked with THE STATE, a Dubai-based publishing practice, to make a ‘zine. We provided the words and art while they provided the design to make a wonderful collaborative document. We are also publishing the work on our site, beginning with this introduction.
Set in Stone: Constructing Identity and Cosmopolitanism in Georgia
The preservation and restoration of religious buildings become implicated in complex and polemical questions of Georgian nationhood, citizenship, identity, and belonging. The production of a neoliberal notion of cosmopolitanism based on tolerance and celebration of different ethno-religious groups within national borders, enshrined in the preservation of religious buildings, is part and parcel of this re-branding campaign. The presentation of a public space that celebrates diversity does not however necessarily translate to lived reality where difference just is.
Curtains of Iron or Curtains of Silk? Soviet Artwork in Conversation with West and South Asia
The post-Soviet art of Central Asia and the Caucasus comes out of a Soviet-era conversation of artistic styles that looks not just to Moscow but also to Mecca. An understanding of the high and low registers of this Soviet cultural heritage allows the humor and self-confidence of the work to be appreciated — aesthetically as well as financially — by audiences.
The Rise and Fall of Lazika
This piece was originally published on The Tuqay before it became part of Ajam Media Collective. In December 2011, the Georgian president announced—to widespread surprise—the construction of a new city…
Young and in Love (with God)
This piece was originally published on The Tuqay before it became part of Ajam Media Collective. The Orthodox Church of Georgia is attracting a post-communist generation in need of a…