Ajarian Women’s Heritage Between Myth and Contemporary

Project by Irma Sharikadze

May 18 – June 28, 2025
State Silk Museum
6 G. Tsabadze Street
Opening: May 18, 2025 | 17:00–21:00

On the occasion of International Museum Day, the State Silk Museum invites you to the
opening of a temporary exhibition realized in collaboration with visual artist Irma
Sharikadze. The exhibition explores the archetypal and aesthetic layers of Ajarian
embroidery through a multimedia approach.

The exposition presents the creative heritage of Ajarian women from the personal
perspective of the artist. The embroidery collection will be presented for the first time
within the museum space and comprises hand-stitched ornamental patterns on silk and
cotton textiles. It features unique floral and geometric motifs, along with zoomorphic and
anthropomorphic figures, and includes symbolic representations of the Tree of Life and
its guardians, associated with archaic fertility cults.
The exhibition will also present photographic documentation by Irma Sharikadze,
capturing women from the highland regions of Ajara, alongside a film and a photo
installation featuring costumes designed by Irma De Flore, inspired by traditional Ajarian
Embroidery. The exhibition opening will be marked by a special performance featuring
acclaimed contemporary ballet soloists Nina Gogua and Natia Bunturi; former soloist of
the Georgian National Ballet “Sukhishvili,” Tea Darchia.
The exhibition is part of the State Silk Museum’s long-term initiative Museum and
Collector and continues Irma Sharikadze’s authorial project The Ajarian Bride’s
Treasure.

Set to open on 13 May, the 24th edition of Triennale Milano International Exhibition will explore the theme of Inequalities.
"We are born unequal – all of us," said Milan Triennale president Stefano Boeri. "Not only because of the genes we inherit, but because of our families, our surroundings, the particular corner of the world in which we are born. From the very beginning, we are shaped by differences and marked by inequality."
"Sometimes they present themselves as opportunities, other times as constraints," he continued. "They may serve as resources, as foundations of identity that evolve over time, or as chains that hold us back, bonds from which we must struggle to break free."

Tosin Oshinowo's Ngarannam village is also included in the exhibition. Photo by Tolu SanusiOccupying the historic Palazzo dell'Arte in Milan, which has hosted the International Exhibition since 1933, the exhibitions and pavilions will be spread across two floors.
The ground floor of the building will focus on geopolitics of inequalities, with the majority of exhibitions concerned with cities.
"The cities of the world are in fact the place where the challenges of reducing global warming and overcoming inequalities intersect," explained Boeri. "They are the place where the challenge of the coming decades will be won or lost."
"Without the leadership of the cities, without their coordinated action, if they cannot meet the great challenge of reducing and containing inequalities of income, social class and education and cannot reduce disparities in access to services, information and data, any policy of an ecological transition is doomed to failure," he continued.

A pair of shelters by the Norman Foster Foundation will be featured. Photo courtesy of the Norman Foster InstituteHighlights will include the thematic exhibition Cities curated by Nina Bassoli, which aims to raise "questions about the new dialectic between wealth and poverty, society and community, ecologies and cities and the surprising forms in which they manifest in urban settings today".
It will include an installation focused on the Grenfell Tower fire, promoted by Grenfell Next of Kin.
Also on the ground floor, Towards an Equal Future by the Norman Foster Foundation will focus on the housing crisis in emergency contexts. The exhibition will include a pair of 1:1 scale prototypes of emergency housing shelters.

The 471 Days installation will focus on Gaza. The main staircase leading up to the first floor, where the International Exhibition continues, will contain an installation by Filippo Teoldi.
Named 471 Days, the piece aims to transform data from the war in Gaza into a visual experience "to explore war, one of the most dramatic manifestations of inequality".

Theaster Gates is creating an installation at the event. Photo courtesy Theaster Gates Studio and Mori Art MuseumOn the first floor, the exhibitions will be focused on biopolitics of inequalities.
"The first floor of the Palazzo dell'Arte is devoted to the biopolitical implications of social, economic and gender inequalities, in particular on habits, styles and life expectancies in contemporary societies, beginning with a look at the biodiversity of and in social bodies," said Boeri.
"The biopolitics of inequalities sheds light on the immense differences in the possibility over the course of a lifetime to access resources that were not available in the original conditions."

The installation will be named A Clay Biography. Photo courtesy Theaster Gates Studio and Mori Art MuseumThis space will include a special project curated by artist Gates. Named A Clay Corpus, the project aims to "tackle inequalities from the standpoint of lost and found craftsmanship".
It will transform the space of Ettore Sottsass's Casa Lana into a research facility dedicated to a vast collection of Japanese ceramics from the town of Tokoname, known for its ancient pottery traditions.

Beatriz Colomina and Mark Wigley have curated an exhibition on bacteria and buildingsAlso on this floor, the exhibition We the Bacteria: Notes Toward Biotic Architecture by Colomina and Wigley will explore the intersection of bacteria and buildings.
According to the curators, health is closely tied to inequality. The reduction in microbial diversity over the past century is reportedly among the causes of many modern diseases, while bacteria are increasingly resistant to antibiotics, something that is leading to more deaths each year.
The exhibition will examine the role architecture can play in encouraging interspecies coexistence, where microbes and bacteria are seen as allies rather than enemies.
Another exhibition presented on the first floor is The Republic of Longevity – In Health Equality We Trust, curated by Nic Palmarini and Marco Sammicheli, which examines how people’s life spans are directly connected to their access to resources.
For more information, including how to purchase tickets, visit the Triennale Milano's website.
Triennale Milano International Exhibition takes place from 13 May to 9 November 2025 at Triennale Milano, Viale Emilio Alemagna, 6, 20121 Milano, Italy. See Dezeen Events Guide for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.

The Malmö Arab Film Festival (MAFF) its 15th edition,  took place from April 29 to May 5, 2025. On the red carpet at the opening, which took place at the Royal Cinema, one of Sweden's largest cinemas, festival guests, including Arab film stars and filmmakers, dazzled. The Egyptian comedic star Ahmed Helmy was honored by the festival for his creative contributions to cinema.
The announced 35 films (23 feature films and 12 short films) produced by 12 different Arab countries, with co-productions from 10 Western countries. The films are distributed as follows: the Feature Film Competition includes 12 films, the Short Film Competition includes 11 films, in addition to 2 films in the "Arabian Nights" section, 2 films in the "Special Screenings" section, 2 films in the Schools Screenings, and 1 film in the Family Screening.

Founder – Executive Chairman of the festival, Mouhamad Keblawi, commented on the selections:
"We are proud that the 15th edition of the Malmö Arab Film Festival brings together a selection of the finest recent Arab cinematic productions, reflecting the cultural diversity and creative richness of Arab filmmakers. This year, we have carefully curated a well-rounded program featuring powerful films with compelling themes and distinctive directorial visions, offering audiences a unique cinematic experience and the opportunity to engage with the filmmakers themselves.
Expanding our screenings to the cities of Lund and Landskrona further underscores our commitment to broadening the cinematic dialogue and bringing Arab films to a wider audience. We look forward to welcoming our guests—both filmmakers and audiences—to an edition filled with artistic excellence and meaningful discussions, reinforcing Malmö’s position as a key platform for Arab cinema in Europe."

The Feature Film Competition jury consists of Lebanese actress Takla Chamoun, Moroccan producer Karim Aitouna, Egyptian director Hala Khalil, Saudi director Hind Al Fahhad, and Iraqi producer Shaker K. Tahrer.
The Short Film Competition jury comprises Emirati director Aisha Alzaabi, Egyptian producer Sherin Magdy, and Jordanian actor Monther Rayhnah.
The opening film of the festival Ahlam Abira (Transient Dreams) by Palestinian director Rashid Masharawi, is a co-production between Palestine, Sweden, Saudi Arabia, and France.
As always, the festival extends beyond Malmö, bringing the magic of Arab cinema to the Swedish cities and even Copenhagen and Finland this year. 

At Panora Cinema Hall 1, “Arze” (Lebanon, Egypt, Saudi Arabia) by director Mira Shaib was screened, followed by an engaging Q&A with Diamand Bou Abboud, Lebanese star actress who plays young single mom Arze, and as the story evolves Arze finds herself in unknown territories literally as she drags her recently turned 18-year-old across Beirut searching for a stolen scooter. Abboud herself was also at the festival's panel discussion with moderator Mehdi Saleki, discussing topic, Filmmaking for social change, where she emphasizes that her acting character is a play and separate from her private world. She gives the impression of a very talented young actress who is young yet so humble.

Arze is the sweetest piece in the mixed box of chocolates offered in a form of feature films, short films, and documentaries during the anniversary 15th edition of Malmö Arab Film Festival. Which is why I understand it wins the Audience Award. Putting emphasis on all senses, this story set in Lebanon draws the cinema guests and one can almost taste the delicious smell of pasty baked by Arze and her older sister in a small Beirut apartment and the fear as she pants her beloved sister's most valuable item, gifted by a long-lost fiancé. It's the much-needed income that supports the trio in a time when the country experiences social change and uncertainty about tomorrow and uprisings.

The movie also evokes the melody of busy Beirut streets filled with sirens of buzzing trucks, buses, and cars, all brought to life almost in 3D in the cinema hall as the audience almost breathlessly follows the family on a quest to relise themselves. The cast from the young Omar Sharif look-alike son, the melancholic elder sister, and an amazing cast of side roles, they all emphasise the hopes and dreams of the young generation in this time in Lebanon.

ABOUT FILM
Arzé (2024) is a Lebanese comedy-drama directed by Mira Shaib, following a single mother and her son as they navigate life’s challenges in Beirut. The film explores family dynamics and societal struggles, featuring compelling performances and a powerful narrative.

CAST & CREDITS
Director: Mira Shaib
Writer: Louay Khraish, Faissal Sam Shaib
Cast: Diamand Abou Abboud, Betty Taoutel, Bilal Al Hamwi
Dop: Heyjin Jun
Producer: Faissal Sam Shaib, Louay Khraish, Zeina Badran, Ali Elarabi

MIRA SHAIB
Mira Shaib is a Lebanese director of the feature film Arzé (2024) and the short films “Lilacs” and “Diaspora.” She is an alumnus of prestigious film development labs and residencies, including Robert Bosch Stiftung, Film Academy Baden-Württemberg, Film Independent’s Global Media Makers LA  Residency, the Red Sea Lodge, and the Torino Film Lab. Mira Shaib earned a Bachelor of Arts in Film and Television from the Lebanese American University (LAU) in Beirut and a Master of Fine Arts in Cinematic Arts from Concordia University in Montreal, Canada. Mira co-founded Cinema For All, an arts initiative with a mission to make cinema accessible in rural Lebanon. Her first feature film, Arzé, was selected to be in the official selections for the Cairo International Film Festival, Beijing International Film Festival, and Tribeca Festival. Mira is working on her second feature film.

Join Day 4 at Malmo Arab Film Festival - MAFF with directors of #YallaParkour film filmed in #Gaza . Directors Areeb Zuaiter and Basel Mawlawi with Lisa Nyed Head of Documentary at Film i Skåne, Sweden (above center). The film is screened during the 15th Anniversary edition of Malmo Arab Film Festival - MAFF.

Areeb crosses paths with Ahmed, a parkour athlete in Gaza, sparking a journey where conflicting aspirations intersect. Nostalgia meets with ambition, and the weight of a confined past meets with an unpredictable future. See trailer here Yalla Parkour
Filmmaker Areeb Zuaiter was born in the mountainous city of Nablus, Palestine. Her parents found opportunities outside of Palestine and left when she was still an infant. Still, they visited every year. With those visits, she would watch her mother transform into what she’d call “her true self”, and her smile would come back to life. Folded in those visits, is one visit to Gaza. She was only four. It was her first encounter with the sea. The memory of her mother's genuine smile by the seaside left a lasting impression on her.


Recently, nostalgia for her homeland resurfaces when she discovers a video of young men practicing parkour on Gaza's sandy shores. Their joy starkly contrasts with distant explosions. Longing to reconnect with her past, Areeb reaches out to the parkour team and bonds with an athlete named Ahmed. Together, they navigate the remnants of Gaza, exploring places like a cemetery, a run-down mall, and the remains of an airport.


As their relationship deepens, Ahmed reveals the harsh realities of life in Gaza, transforming Areeb's initial curiosity into a profound awareness of his struggles. Areeb grapples with guilt and conflict as she witnesses Ahmed’s desire to escape the confines of his homeland, understanding the emotional void such a departure would entail. Their journey becomes a quest to reclaim memories and explore identity, belonging, and the haunting legacy of a home left behind. Yalla Parkour offers a last glimpse of a pre-October 7th Gaza.
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