In Fact, There Was No Gallery to Speak Of… By Vitaly Sharia
"This incident reflects the misfortune our country has faced for over three decades, marked by our failure to establish a proper art gallery."
Ekho Kavkaza — For the last three days, the Abkhazian society has been engulfed in shock and a search for those responsible for the devastating fire that destroyed the collections of the National Art Gallery of Abkhazia on the night of "Black Sunday," January 21st.
In the Abkhazian segment of social networks there are users who are inclined - sometimes because of some trifle, accident - to inflate tragedy of universal scale. However, what happened to the gallery really cannot be called anything but a national catastrophe. True, fires of terrible magnitude have happened throughout history in various countries for various reasons. But this incident is a concentration of the misfortune that has plagued our country not just in the present moment but also over the past three decades, during which we have failed to establish a proper art gallery. Interestingly, a Facebook user living outside Abkhazia expressed sympathy upon learning of the tragedy and then confessed to not even knowing of the gallery's existence despite multiple visits to the republic.
Indeed, the gallery was established back in 1964, but the dream of having its own building remained unrealized. In reality, it served primarily as a storage facility for an ever-growing collection. I had the opportunity to see items from the gallery's collection in the first years after the war (1992-93 —Trans.). They were housed in the so-called Fishkov House on Sukhum's Pushkin Street, now the site of the 'Ainar' Children's Creativity House, and later in several rooms on the second floor of the Union of Artists of Abkhazia building on Sukhum's Lakoba Street, which recently burned down. The conditions for storing paintings in these rooms were indeed nightmarish, not only in terms of fire safety. The storage conditions were dire, a nightmare not just in terms of fire safety. There was, however, a certain logic to moving them there, as the Central Exhibition Hall of the Abkhazian Union of Artists is located on the first floor of this beautiful, old brick building. From time to time, individual paintings and sculptural busts were brought downstairs to participate in various exhibitions hosted by the Central Exhibition Hall. Therefore, it's not accurate to say that fine art enthusiasts never had the opportunity to see them. These works were also displayed in exhibitions abroad. But all these activities represented just a tiny portion of the more than four thousand art objects in the collection. This relocation was logical, assuming it was seen as a temporary measure. The first president of the Republic of Abkhazia, Vladislav Ardzinba, allocated a building on the same Pushkin Street, a former pre-revolutionary women's gymnasium, for the gallery, but it required restoration. Unfortunately, although over the past decades, it was possible to thoroughly renovate buildings such as the Abkhaz State Drama Theatre, the Philharmonic, the National Library, and others with the help of the Russian investment program, the gallery fell victim to the residual principle of financing culture.
"Black Sunday" in Abkhazia, by Izida Chania
On the night of January 20 to 21, a devastating fire engulfed the National Art Gallery (Central Exhibition Hall of the Union of Artists of Abkhazia, where the entire collection of the National Art Gallery was housed. — Trans.) in Sukhum, dealing an irreplaceable blow to cultural heritage. Over 4,000 unique works by Abkhazian artists were lost forever, including 300 works by Alexander Chachba-Shervashidze, paintings by Varvara Bubnova, creations by Marina Eshba, and pieces by Valery Gamgia, the designer of symbols for independent Abkhazia. This tragedy at the National Gallery has since been referred to as "Black Sunday."
The fire was likely sparked by intermittent power outages. When electricity was restored around three in the morning, a short circuit occurred. Alarmingly, the gallery lacked any safety system, and only one person in Abkhazia was oblivious to the perilous condition of the storage area where these national treasures were kept – Dinara Smyr, the Minister of Culture. Displaying profound professional ineptitude, she admitted, amidst the ruins, her ignorance of the National Art Gallery's dire state, particularly the inadequacy of the premises for storing such valuable artworks.
The National Gallery building itself, long bereft of a roof and doors and overrun by vines, seemed to await the interest of an "investor" for conversion into apartments. It appears the minister was equally uninformed about this. Perhaps this is due to the Ministry of Culture morphing into a ministry primarily concerned with entertainment and funerals, operating on what's left of its budget without objection.
Tatiana, the granddaughter of renowned Abkhazian enlightener and poet Dmitry Gulia, reacted to the minister's excuses by suggesting on social media that funds earmarked for the writer's anniversary celebration should instead be diverted to establishing a fire safety system.
Officials who have served in this ministry are infamous for frivolities like gambling away employees' salaries in casinos or auctioning off a Picasso plate. And when funds are needed for vital causes, the perennial excuse is the country's lack of financial resources. Yet, there always seems to be enough for extravagant expenditures like the president's 30 million ruble (around $340,000 — Trans.) armoured vehicle (notably, rewiring the National Art Gallery would cost a mere 500 thousand rubles [According to Vissarion (Sergei) Tsvizhba, 20-30 million rubles ($226K - $340K Trans.]), constructing an imposing wall around the administrative building, installing a security system at the state dacha used by Bzhania, and bolstering the president's security detail.
Voices in the Ashes: Community Reacts to Abkhazian Art Gallery Fire
SUKHUM / AQW'A — In the wake of the devastating fire at the Central Exhibition Hall of the Union of Artists of Abkhazia, a wave of reactions has swept across social media. Artists, politicians, NGO representatives, and community members alike have taken to various platforms to express their grief and perspectives on this tragic loss of cultural heritage.
"Tragedy! Yet another national tragedy, an irreplaceable loss. To think or speak about it is unbearable, filled with pain and tears.
How could this have happened?!
If our political powers, embodied by officials and structures responsible for this calamity, cannot safeguard our cultural legacy and history, then how can we hope to preserve our national resources, language, and unique identity?
Much of Abkhazia's cultural heritage has been obliterated due to rampant irresponsibility and indifference in every structure and sphere. It is often said that everyone should be responsible for themselves, their actions, activities, deeds, and words. Yet, in our situation, it seems that no one is held accountable at all, neither legally nor morally. Gross misconduct, inaction, incompetence, falsehoods, and ignorance are all excused.
We have lost archival materials and people during the war. Recently, we lost a part of our state sovereignty. Today, we've lost our cultural heritage. What might we lose tomorrow?"
How long will we remain silent, tacitly accepting what's happening, showing falsely good attitudes towards individuals just because they are a parent's acquaintance, share the same surname, or are a brother, in-law, a relative's relative, a neighbour's neighbour, and so on? To what extent are we prepared to go, displaying hypocrisy towards each other, fearing to openly acknowledge that what is black is black, and what is white is white?
We have lost archival materials and people during the war. Recently, we lost a part of our state sovereignty. Today, we've lost our cultural heritage. What might we lose tomorrow?"
— Elena Kortua, Psychologist, Lecturer at Abkhazian State University
«Аџьашьахәы ҟалаӡом! Ҳара наунагӡа амилаҭтә мазара ҳцәыӡит, ҳахәҭак ҳцәыӡит»
Абри ацәанырра раԥхьаӡа акәны иԥысшәеит сашьа Алхас даныҟамла. Иара дҭахеит Гагра ахақәиҭтәраан. Акыраамҭа ишьҭан, дырзыԥшаауамызт. Уи ҵыхәаԥҵәара змамыз, иузхымго амшқәа ракәын, аха уеизгьы-уеизгьы аџьашьахәы уақәгәыӷны уаанымгылакәа анцәа уиҳәоит, уиашьапкуеит.
Анаҩс саб ӷәӷәала дырхәит ҳәа аарыцҳаит. Нас ҩаԥхьа угәы злаҭәыз агәырҩа, иухугаз уцәыӡқәа зегьы хьаа ҿыцны иузцәырҵоит, аха уара уеизгьы анцәа уиҳәоит, уиҳәоит аанҿасрада. Уи ацәанырра еснагь исҭаауеит бзиа избо ауаа наӡаӡа ианысԥырҵуа.
Урҭ ахәыцрақәеи, ацәаныррақәеи снырит иахьагьы, Амилаҭтә сахьатә галереиа афонд зегьы шыблыз ансаҳа ашьҭахь. Аџьашьахәы ҟалаӡом! Ҳара наунагӡа амилаҭтә мазара ҳцәыӡит, ҳахәҭак ҳцәыӡит.
Сара издыруеит аибашьра ҟамлазҭгьы, насгьы аӷа сҭынхацәа дырмеихсыр, иахьа урҭ сааигәара иҟалон. Сара схьаақәа рзы аҭакԥхықәра здугьы дыздыруеит.
Иахьа имҩаԥысуа ахҭысқәа рзы, ҳкультуреи ҳҭоурыхи рыҟәша ду ақәхраҟны аҭакԥхықәра здугьы дыздыруеит. Шәаргьы ижәдыруеит. Ҿымҭ-ԥсымшьа шәымтәан, шәымшәан, ишәымчҳан!
«Ҿымҭ-ԥсымшьа шәымтәан, шәымшәан, ишәымчҳан!»
Асида Шьаҟрыл
On Wednesday, January 24th, a memorial gathering will take place at the Alexander Chachba monument (located at 22 Leon Avenue) to mourn the irrevocable loss of the Abkhaz people's cultural heritage. The event will begin at 12:00 PM.