A house in Georgia

In the Georgian capital Tbilisi, there’s a house on a leafy street corner that is like a museum. A visit

By Maryam Mumladze 11/30/2023

View of an old house on a street corner — View of the house of the artist’s family

Photo: Maryam Mumladze for Kulturaustausch

A woman with short black hair sits on a sofa with carpets and cushions in a room and shows a graphic. Behind her, many pictures and graphics hang on the wall — Actress Nata Murvanidze in her home

Photo: Maryam Mumladze for KULTURAUSTAUSCH

This house in the Georgian capital Tbilisi belongs to a well-known family of artists: the actress Nata Murvanidze, her husband Nika Tavadze, an actor and director, their young daughter and Nata’s mother.

When Nata and Nika first visited the house in 2000, they spotted a plaque on the wall commemorating the prominent former owners of the building: the actress Nato Vachnadze and the director Nikoloz Shengelaia. The fact that the house had once belonged to filmmakers spurred Nika and Nata on in their decision to buy it.

Some 23 years later, the building has a museum-like quality. Nika and Nata collect all kinds of objects and the walls are hung with sketches by Nata’s father, the famous landscape painter Muraz Murvanidze.

The photos of director Sergei Parajanov, which also line the walls, are particularly valuable. Anyone familiar with Parajanov’s opulent aesthetic will quickly notice how the rooms in the house imitate his stylised film scenes and his striking use of colour.