Georgian Museum of Fine Arts, Tbilisi

The Georgian Museum of Fine Arts is located on Rustaveli Avenue in Tbilisi. It is a private art museum built in 2013, solely dedicated to hosting art exhibitions. It officially opened on September 26, 2018. The museum houses over 3500 artworks created by 80 artists in the past 70 years. These valuable pieces comprise the private art collection of the Jokhtaberidze-Shevardnadze family, the founders of Magticom, the largest telecommunications company in Georgia.

Dr. George Jokhtaberidze and Manana Shevardnadze started collecting art in the 1990s. Dr. Jokhtaberidze, successful in his entrepreneurial pursuits, began acquiring art out of personal interest. During a shopping trip, he found a gallery selling art at very low prices, which made him realize the need to curate, document, and exhibit art properly instead of scattering it worldwide. Since much of the art was from the Soviet Union era behind the Iron Curtain, its recognition was limited. Thus, the mission was born: to gather, restore, and protect Georgian art. Initially, the plan was to donate the collection to state museums, but the collapse of the USSR and subsequent upheavals left the state museums unable to accommodate the entire collection.

Over 23 years, as art continued to be amassed and while simultaneously leading Georgia's largest telecommunications company, Dr. George Jokhtaberidze seized an opportunity to acquire real estate directly in front of the Georgian Parliament building. Swiftly transforming this opportunity into a comprehensive plan, he set in motion the development of a complex that would encompass the Georgian Museum of Fine Arts and the Art House.