Data (David) Chigholashvili

About:

Data (David) Chigholashvili works between social anthropology and contemporary art, exploring connections between them through theoretical research and socially engaged art projects. He is mainly interested in topics concerning visual and urban anthropology, ethnography, socially engaged art practices, public space, migration, foodways, and memory - some of which are usually interconnected in his collaborative work.

Data’s works are strongly related to the specificity of their contexts. Through direct commentary, or subtle forms he aims to present and question issues of the surroundings, while exploring connections between various disciplines and ways of expression in order to challenge conventional definitions and forms.

In 2012 Data joined GeoAIR, and since 2018 he works as a curator of international programs at the State Silk Museum in Tbilisi, Georgia. He is also a co-founder of URBANARE. He has been working on projects, texts, publications, and talks locally and internationally.

Education:

In 2009 he received the Degree of Bachelor of Humanities in History, Politics and Culture from the University of Georgia. In 2012 he obtained the Degree of Master of Science in Social Anthropology from the University of Edinburgh. Data continued his research and currently he is a PhD candidate in anthropology at Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University.

Selected projects and exhibitions:

2019 – Curator of “Remainders #2: Surviving Bodies” (GE)
2018 – Co-curator of the festival “Memory Threads: Museum and Neighborhood” at the State Silk Museum (GE)
2018 – Curator of “Remainders #1: It’s unedited but I reconstructed” (GE)
2016 – Author and guide of an artistic tour “Confused Tour at Tbilisi Chess Palace and Alpine Club” (GE)
2015 – ongoing / Participant of “Induced Creativity” (GE)
2014-2015 – Collective member of “Tbilisi InSights” (GE, AM, NL)
2014 – Co-author of “Cooking Imaginations: Tbilisi Migrant Stories” (GE)

The residency of David Chigholashvili is a part of the project The New Dictionary of Old Ideas.

Date of residency: 4. 6.–31. 7. 2019