Private Stages

Private Stages is about five activists who are part of a universe, part of a revolution that comes to an unexpected halt because of a global pandemic.
The Protagonists are all related to the famous Night Club Bassiani in Georgia’s Capital Tbilisi, where the young and queer community could meet freely und unrestrictedly till a police raid and attacks from far-right groups and religious unions threatened the community and the idea of unity, freedom and social justice.

For days thousands of young Georgians danced and protested in in front of the parliament in spring 2018 to voice their concern about brutality and control. The RAVE REVOLUTION was born. „We dance together, we fight together“ was the battle cry. The Bassiani reopened but after one enemy was defeated, a much stronger opponent appeared: a pandemic that shut down all the clubs. Reopening unforeseeable.

The artist and photographer Carmen Brucic tries to approach the topic by different artistic means. In Tbilisi her challenge is to build a very personal and intimate space where the power of loneliness and concentration can be felt. Within two weeks in the summer of 2021 she creates five portraits that circle round the following questions: Can resistance flourish in isolation? Which other forms of resistance can be developed? How does one prepare oneself for the future? How can political and social changes be pushed? Future wide open. 

Carmen Brucic - lives and works in Austria at the interface of art and science. She focuses on themes related to emotional relationships, vulnerability and fragility. Her intimate perspective allows her to reveal important but delicate issues of society. Her artwork emerges from the interplay between the fine arts, theater and photography.

The program was implemented within an Art Residency program 2021 by Tbilisi Photo Festival in a partnership with Tbilisi Photography & Multimedia Museum funded by MagiC Carpets, a Creative Europe Platform.