Ana Gabelaia

Ana Gabelaia (born in 1991 in Kutaisi/GE) is a Tbilisi-based art historian, curator and writer. Her focus lies in contemporary art that addresses the challenges of the modern world. Ana’s curatorial work began in 2014 during a research residency at BINZ39 in Zurich/CH. Subsequently, in 2015, she obtained her M.A. in Contemporary Art Theory from the Tbilisi State Academy of Arts. Over the past decade, Ana has engaged in freelance work and collaborated with various non-governmental institutions both within and beyond Tbilisi/GE. She has curated numerous solo and group exhibitions, prioritising art as a tool to reflect on and respond to social, political and environmental realities. In 2017, Ana co-founded and curated the first two editions of OXYGEN, a major contemporary art event in Georgia that has now evolved into a biennial. In 2019, she co-founded 4710, a contemporary art space focusing on emerging Georgian artists. Since 2021, she has been working as a curator at the Tbilisi Photo Festival and the Tbilisi Photography and Multimedia Museum.

In recent years, Ana’s curatorial research has concentrated on human relationships with one another and the environment. Another aspect of her research explores curatorial practices themselves, as she seeks methods that best suit the contemporary world, bringing art beyond traditional white spaces to engage wider audiences. Gabelaia lives and works in Tbilisi/GE.