A mourning rally in Abkhazia blames National Gallery fire on difference
Abkhazia mourns the loss of gallery
A memorial gathering in Sukhum was held on 24 January in remembrance of the recent fire at the National Art Gallery.
On the night of January 21, the National Art Gallery in Abkhazia was engulfed in flames. The cause of the fire is attributed to a short circuit in the electrical wiring. The blaze resulted in the destruction of over 4,000 works by renowned Abkhazian artists, including Alexander Shervashidze-Chachba, Varvara Bubnova, Marina Eshba, Valery Gamgia, and others. Only 200 paintings were salvaged.
The gathering took place at the monument to the first professional Abkhazian artist, Alexander Shervashidze-Chachba. Attendees were primarily those still grappling with the profound loss, including cultural figures of Abkhazia, representatives from the public, and members of the creative and scientific community.
Only the head of the presidential administration was present at the rally.
Director of the National Art Gallery, Suram Sakania, fought back tears as he offered apologies to everyone, acknowledging himself as one of the contributors to the tragedy of January 21.
“I bear a lot of blame. Why couldn’t I organize actions earlier? Why didn’t I raise my voice so that it would finally be heard? [Now] we have no possibility to recover the Chachba-Shervashidze paintings. We have never been able to establish a museum in his name, where his works could be preserved.”
- In Abkhazia, the National Art Gallery was completely consumed by fire
- National Gallery fire in Abkhazia: ‘Soot under the nails is all that remains of my people’s cultural heritage’
- Dancing, language, archery – “national hobbies” gaining popularity in Abkhazia
As stated by artist Nodar Tsvizhba, young Abkhazian artists were nurtured on the creations of Shervashidze-Chachba.
Honored Worker of Culture Nuri Kvarchia called for a thorough investigation. He urged proactive measures, emphasizing the need to preserve and recover whatever artworks can be saved.
Kvarchia suggested establishing a fund, offering to contribute his annual salary towards this cause.
Human rights activist Asida Shakryl deems the events of the night of January 21 as a shameful occurrence:
“It is shameful that this happened in our era. The incident is a consequence of our indifference, irresponsibility, and apathy towards our culture, history, and memory.
I am here to apologize for our failure in preserving the legacy of the great artist that was entrusted to us.
To the future generation, I want to express my regret that we, as a society, have been so indifferent and irresponsible.
Primarily, this is the irresponsibility of our authorities.”
Towards the end of the rally, Ruslan Khashig, general director of the TV channel “Abaza-TV,” addressed the crowd. Acknowledging that his channel had showcased the entire archive related to the National Art Gallery, he offered an apology and knelt before the monument of Alexander Shervashidze-Chachba.
Toponyms, terminology, views and opinions expressed by the author are theirs alone and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of JAMnews or any employees thereof. JAMnews reserves the right to delete comments it considers to be offensive, inflammatory, threatening or otherwise unacceptable
