Visitor Information

Working hours

Tuesday–Sunday 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.

Last admission 30 minutes before closing.

CLOSED on Monday, and official holidays

Entrance Fees

Submission is free of charge for:

• Children under 6 years
• ICOM members
• Friends of Museum (become a member)
• Museum employees
• People with special needs and for their accompanying persons
• Georgian and foreign journalists

Note: visitors receiving special benefits or free admission privileges should present relevant documents

For online tickets please visit: Biletebi.ge

Guided Tours

Guide service is delivered in Georgian, English, German, and Russian languages.

Cloakroom

Cloakroom service is free for the following items: 

• Coats and jackets
• Umbrellas
• Travelling bags and backpacks
• Motorcycle/bicycle helmets
• Musical instruments

Handbags (maximum size A3) can be brought into the museum. In case of questionable items , a decision will be made by authorized personnel.

 Following items cannot be checked:

• Money, documents, and identification documents
• Check cards and credit cards
• Valuables
• Handbags

In case of violating the aforementioned policy, the Georgian National Museum is not responsible for the loss or damage of any items.

Visitors should collect their belongings by the end of the working day. After the museum closes all the items left behind are considered lost. In case of loss of checked items, authorized personnel should be notified immediately.

Recommendations and Regulations

• The last entrance tickets are sold 30 minutes prior the end of working day. Visitors should leave exhibition halls 10 minutes before the museum closes.
• Children (under 12) should be accompanied by parents or authorized persons
• Parents, teachers, nurses, and group supervisors are responsible for children's actions
• Running, smoking, and excessive noise are prohibited in the museum. Parents are asked not to carry small children on their shoulders.
• Eating and drinking is allowed only in the cafe or the yard terrace of the museum
• Each member of the group should stay nearby the authorized supervisor
• Copying art works in exhibition hall without authorization from the museum administration is prohibited
• Visitors must keep their tickets until the end of the visit
• The following items are prohibited in any part (social or exhibition) of the Georgian National Museum: chemical and toxic substances; firearms and weapons; food and plastic bottles; sharp, overweight, or oversized items; other art works, art work reproductions, or casts; scooters, skateboards, or bicycles; pets and animals.

Photo and Video Shooting

• Taking photos of the museum building and permanent exhibitions for personal purposes are allowed without using flash and tripods
• Photo and video are strictly prohibited at temporary exhibitions
• Photography for commercial purposes is subject to prior negotiation and written permission issued by the museum administration and communications department
• Taking photo or video featuring GNM employees is a subject of prior negotiation with the museum administration

Contact Information

8, Sioni St., Tbilisi, Georgia

Tel: + (995 32) 298 22 81

Fax: + (995 32) 298 21 33

E-mail: info@museum.ge

The Tbilisi History Museum was founded in 1910 as the City Municipal Museum. More recently, it was given the name of the famous Georgian poet Ioseb Grishashvili. Since 1984, the Tbilisi History Museum has been located in a restored caravanserai, representing the city's historic role as a Silk Road trading outpost.

The museum houses over fifty thousand artifacts. They reflect Tbilisi's history from the end of the 4 millennium BCE to the present day. The museum presents archeological, ethnological and archival materials as well as the pieces of national and applied arts, and a rich photo-collection. A number of unique works of artistic and graphic arts are also preserved in this museum.

Together with older works, the museum also exhibits pieces of contemporary art. Since 1986, many exhibitions of Georgian and foreign artists have been displayed at the museum.

"The Contemporary Art Gallery” project is implementing within the frame of Georgian National Museum with a support and supervision of Ministry of Culture and Monument Protection of Georgia.

The Contemporary Art Gallery aims to support and promote contemporary art in Georgia, fosters opportunities for Georgian contemporary art to be shown locally, regionally and internationally.

The project aims to support art processes and exhibition activities; to promote regional and international relationships in the field of contemporary art; to support contemporary art activities (exhibitions, festivals, international events, awards) within the country and abroad; to appreciate Georgian contemporary art by the high criteria and it’s relation to international tendencies as well as to the history of Georgian art.

Through exhibition, publications, symposiums and exchange programs, the “Contemporary Art Gallery” builds and fosters dialogue with diverse audiences about contemporary art in Georgia, promotes the education of contemporary art in collaboration with existing tertiary, secondary and primary educational institutions. All this will be implemented through the workshops, seminars, publications and online media.

By the end of 2016 the project “Contemporary Art Gallery” will produce several international exhibitions. Georgian artists will participated in all scheduled exhibitions.

“Contemporary Art Gallery” invites curators and artists to collaborate.

Well-known curator Dr. Charles Merewether is invited in the frame of Georgian National Museum project. He will curate and coordinate all scheduled activities.

Project implementation group: Dr. Charles Merewether - curator; Lika Mamatsashvili - coordinator; Tsiko Jankarashvili - translator; Nino Zaalishvili - PR manager; Gega Kutateladze - designer; Keti Trapaidze - educational program manager. 

Curator Charles Merewether

Dr. Charles Merewether is an art historian, author and curator who has worked in Asia, Australia, Europe and the Americas. He was Collections Curator at the Getty Center in Los Angeles (1994-2004), Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Cross-Cultural Research,

Australian National University (2004 -2006), Artistic Director and Curator of the Biennale of Sydney (2006), Deputy Director, Cultural District for the Tourist Development and Investment Company, Abu Dhabi (2007-2008). Merewether served as Director, Institute of Contemporary Arts, Singapore (2010-2013) and Visiting Professor, Nanyang Technology University, Singapore (2014). Merewether was a Visiting Professor at the Baptist University in Hong Kong and a Visiting Research Fellow at the NTU Centre for Contemporary Art Singapore. He is the author of many articles about contemporary art and his recent books include After Memory: The Art of Milenko Prvacki - 40 Years, a co-edited volume of essays After the Event: New Perspectives on Art History, by Manchester University Press (2010), Ai Weiwei: Under Construction (2008) and editor of both Art, Anti-Art, Non-Art: Experimentations in the Public Sphere in Postwar Japan 1950-1970 (2007) and The Archive (2006), editor and co-writer of a book, Singapore Art Today, since 2016 curator of the project "Tbilisi Contemporary Art Gallery (TCAG)".

Coordinator Lika Mamatsashvili

Mrs. Lika Mamatsashvili is a curator of Georgian National Museum Tbilisi History Museum and Contemporary art manager from 1986. She is the expert of Georgian photography of the 19th century and the author of the books about art and photography:

1.The first Georgian Photographer Aleksandre Roinashvili. The book I, II, III; 2.Dimitri Ermakov Photographer and Collector; 3.The First World War in the eyes of Georgian Woman (The First Georgian woman photographer Nino Jorjadze). 4.Tbilisi in the eyes of German artists. Tbilisi History Museum's German Culture artworks; 5.The Dadianis; 6. Georgian Photography in

1955-2012 Lika Mamatsashvili was the commission member of Venice Biennale in Georgia 2013 (Ministry of Culture and Monuments Protection of Georgia); member of competition commission "Contemporary Art" 2016 (Ministry of Culture and Monuments Protection of Georgia); Lika Mamatsashvili is the curator of international contemporary art exhibition "Artisterium" and German- Georgian project "Meeting with Pirosmani"; Since 2008, has been a member of jury at various photo contests in Georgia. She is the curator of the International photo festival "Tbilisi- Kolga", coordinator of "State Gallery of Contemporary Art" 2016, Georgian National Museum. Lika Mamatsashvili is the chairman of the Dadianis Rescue Fund, one of the founders of NGO "Museum Association" and the member of ICOM. From 1986 to nowadays Lika Mamatsashvili has organized numerous exhibitions of Georgian contemporary art and the international exhibition projects held in Georgian National Museum, as well as many projects about Georgian photography of the 19th century.