One thing I really like about Georgia. Across the globe, you often find the best exhibitions located in the melting pots of people, in the metropolis. Tbilisi is no different as numerous mesmerizing art galleries are placed next to each other along Rustaveli Avenue. Yet, Georgia also goes down a different path by bringing world-class exhibitions to small rural places which are usually only reserved for museums showcasing their history to a handful of nostalgics.

Within the frames of the International Museum Day, Where.ge suggests you head to the high-mountain valley of Mestia to visit the Svaneti Museum of History and Ethnography. Again, constructed as a place for regional history, until May 30 it hosts the "MAGNUM PHOTO 70 - Georgian Journal: Robert Capa 1947, Thomas Dworzak 2017" exhibition. Beautiful!

Before attempting to describe in my own words why the exhibition breaks from the norm of regional history telling, the curators put it best: “MAGNUM PHOTOS - the world's first association of photographs, celebrates the 70th anniversary since its establishment. 70 years have also passed since the journey of MAGNUM PHOTOS founder, famous war photographer Robert Capa and American writer, Nobel laureate John Steinbeck, who crossed three countries of the Soviet Union - Russia, Ukraine, and Georgia.”

This exhibition is really worth going to, and may propel you to change your travel plans a bit. Cheap flights from Tbilisi catapult you right into the heart of Svaneti, Mestia. A place so touristy nowadays that historic description by the best photographers and literates can only reawaken long-forgotten moments.

WHERE to go:

Opening: May 19, 9 pm - 1 am (Night at the Museum) 
Duration: May 19 - August 19

Address: Svaneti Museum of History and Ethnography, 7 A. Ioseliani Str. Mestia, Svaneti. 

By Benjamin Music

Photo: Svaneti Museum of History and Ethnography