As a fan of the Center for Land Use Interpretation [CLUI] and the haunting novels of Nobel Laureate, Patrick Modiano, I agree with Lucy Lippard’s assessment in The Lure of the Local that “space combined with memory defines place.” While Modiano shows a passion for estrangement, his quiet exploration of mood and memory is inextricably founded in his recall of the places where those estrangements became embedded in his psyche. With CLUI, the psychic quality of overlooked places often take on the qualities of characters in a novel. CLUI has recently been joined, in a sense, by Ruderal, a nomadic school of landscape interpretation founded by Sara Cowles, Associate Professor of Practice in USC’s School of Architecture, and an alum of CLUI’s Wendover Residence program. Info

In her website, Cowles writes,
“Genius Loci”, “Sense of Place”, “Place Making”(or as Colbert might say:…”Placiness?”) When reading about landscapes, we often encounter these phrases. But are they possibly meaningless? Is “placemaking” marketing shorthand for good intentions and aesthetic integration with existing conditions? A stand against the encroachment of generic approaches to site design? An attempt to reify nostalgia? How does one go about teasing out the “genius” of the place, exactly? And who is the arbiter of place: the client? The community? The designer? The critic?

In addition to her work in California, Cowles conducts master classes in landscape interpretation and design at Ruderal Academy: Center for Contemporary Art, Tblisi, Republic of Georgia, and takes part in the interpretation and preservation of Garikula Art Village, near Tblisi. Here begins a brief introduction to Garikula, which was established as Georgia’s first center of contemporary art some 10 years ago by artist Karaman Kutateladze. Info

Garikula has fashioned its powerful sense of place as a key intersection in trade routes between Turkey, Georgia and Iran. Akhalkalaki itself was the seat of a Middle-Ages kingdom, a center for crafts and trade. The Bolgarski Villa, the hub of the Garikula arts complex, was built in 1885 as a summer home of Polish architect/engineer Vasiliy Bolgarski who also engineered a comprehensive water system that supported fruit, wine and spirits production. After the Soviet revolution in 1921, the site served as an army base and orphanage. Restoration began in 2000 by a dedicated team of art professors and students, and international programs have emerged in dialogue with the expansive realm of contemporary art, while revitalizing crafts and material traditions nearly lost under the Communist regime.

The artist group that gravitates to Garikula shares the dream of creating “a self-sustaining functioning infrastructure of contemporary art, an art village gathering the people of fine arts and passions to create a universal instrument of understanding, democracy, and balance through elegance. Everyone who believes in the power of art to shape the time in which we live is invited to participate: meetings, workshops and festivals of art gain international scope. The [AIR] project invites people to witness Georgian esthetics of gardening and agriculture, environment history, and art.” Photos left and below, Fest I Nova 2016

From Ruderal: “In 2010, Garikula hosted The International Festival of Contemporary Art—Fest i Nova 2010. Artists from Georgia, Ukraine, Norway, Holland, Germany, Austria, France, USA, Armenia, Lithuania and Azerbaijan participated in exhibitions, performances, and special excursions. The success of Fest i Nova precipitated a communal dialog about how Art Villa Garikula can expand, develop, and grow sustainably.” [Fest I Nova has continued annually since.] Info Photos above from Art Villa Garikula’s Facebook page. 

For information about Art Villa Garikula’s Artist In Residence program, go here For more about CLUI in DART, go here.