Museum of Folk and Applied Arts
By Resolution No. 213 of the Government of Georgia of April 30, 2019, the Museum of Folk and Applied Arts was merged with the State Museum of Theater, Music, Cinema and Choreography of Georgia.
The museum was opened in 1913 in a building specially built for it in the Mushtaidi Garden. The collections were based on the samples of the “Caucasian Crafts Committee”, which was established in 1899 by the Russian Empire. The committee’s goal was to register, study, protect folk craft centers and masters in the Caucasus, and integrate traditional motifs into modern decorative-applied and folk art. This concept directly echoed the ideas of the popular anti-industrial movement in Europe - “Art’s & craft’s”, which the museum’s curators were well acquainted with. The museum and the committee, in addition to the permanent exhibition space on the territory of the Mushtaidi Garden, had various art and creative workshops.
During the period of Georgian independence (1918-1921), the museum lost its connection with the experimental workshops in Azerbaijan, Armenia and Dagestan. And with the Sovietization of the region in 1921, its financial support from the state was also limited. Nevertheless, the museum retained a significant material and scientific base, on the basis of which successful projects were implemented and the collections were enriched.
After losing its building in the 1920s, the museum changed places several times and since 2006 it has been located in a building specially purchased for it at 28 Shalva Dadiani Street.