ცოცხალი არქივი — ახლა ციფრულად იხსნება
Photographs, research and stories from Georgia and the wider Caucasus.
Building on Giorgi Gersamia’s legacy through documentation, digitisation and responsible access.
Digitisation and documentation are ongoing. Images gain meaning through identification, context and research.
Digital infrastructure and workflow development supported by AI Insider Georgia.
The Georgian Museum of Photography is an independent cultural and research initiative dedicated to preserving and sharing the photographic heritage of Georgia and the wider Caucasus. Its work builds on Giorgi Gersamia’s photographic and research legacy, alongside the wider history explored through the original Photomuseum website. The renewed platform connects photographs with their stories, sources and context, while documentation of the inherited material continues.
მისია
To preserve photographic heritage, advance research into the history of photography, and widen access to images and their context through careful documentation, education and responsible digital sharing.
ხედვა
To develop a trusted photographic archive and research platform that connects Georgia’s visual history with wider scholarship and creates opportunities for learning, collaboration and dialogue.
ისტორია და ჩამოყალიბება
The original online Photomuseum grew from Giorgi Gersamia’s research into the history of photography in Georgia and the Caucasus. In 2000, the earlier Georgian Association for the History of Photography in the Caucasus received support from the Open Society–Georgia Foundation to establish the museum online. The legacy website, Photomuseum.org.ge, preserves research, captions and references to photographs in public and private collections.
Following Giorgi’s death in May 2026, his sons Archil and Beka Gersamia continued this work. On 27 August 2026, they registered a new non-profit organisation, the Georgian Association for the History of Photography in the Caucasus, to carry forward his research mission and develop the renewed Photomuseum.ge. The current Association is a new legal entity building on the original project’s legacy.
The Founder & Today’s Team
გიორგი გერსამია
Founder of the original Photomuseum · Photographic historian, author and cinematographer
Giorgi Gersamia devoted many years to collecting, identifying and researching historical photography in Georgia and the Caucasus. His work combined archival research with the study of photographs held by institutions, private collectors and families. His photographic and research legacy remains the foundation of Photomuseum’s continuing work.
Read Giorgi’s biography →
Today’s Team
The current Association is led by its two volunteer founders, Giorgi’s sons Archil and Beka Gersamia.
Archil Gersamia — Director and co-founder. Archil brings institutional administration experience and leads the renewed initiative.
Beka Gersamia — Co-founder. Beka developed the original Photomuseum website and brings continuity with the project’s early digital work.
AI Insider Georgia supports digital infrastructure and workflow development for the renewed platform.
Original Project Credits
The original website credits Giorgi Gersamia as project author and Association president, artists Tengiz Mirzashvili and Otar Vepkhvadze, and Beka Gersamia as webmaster. Their contributions remain part of Photomuseum’s history.
არქივები და წყაროები
Our work draws on the photographs and negatives collected by Giorgi Gersamia, photographs he made himself, and the research he assembled. These are distinct parts of his legacy; their extent, identification and documentation remain under review.
The original Photomuseum also drew on information about photographs held by museums, archives, libraries, private collectors and families. A source reference does not mean that the original photograph is held by Photomuseum or that reproduction permission has been granted.
We are developing clearer records of authorship, dates, sources, custodial location and access conditions. Where information is uncertain, that uncertainty is part of the documentation. Public access and reuse depend on the circumstances of each photograph.
Sources Referenced by the Original Photomuseum
სახელმწიფო კინო-ფოტო არქივი
საქართველოს სახელმწიფო მუზეუმი (ჯანაშია)
საქართველოს სახელმწიფო სახვითი ხელოვნების მუზეუმი
საქართველოს სახელმწიფო ლიტერატურული მუზეუმი
ხელნაწერთა ეროვნული ცენტრი (კეკელიძის სახ.)
თბილისის ისტორიის მუზეუმი
გრიშაშვილის ბიბლიოთეკა-მუზეუმი
ხელოვნების ძეგლთა ფიქსაციის ლაბორატორია
სახელმწიფო კონსერვატორიის ბიბლიოთეკა
საქართველოს აბრეშუმის მუზეუმი
დამატებით:
კერძო კოლექციები
საოჯახო არქივები
ფოტოგრაფიის ქართული მუზეუმი არის განვითარებადი არქივი, რომელიც ღიაა ახალი კვლევების, თანამშრომლობისა და დიალოგისთვის.
ისტორიები და პოდკასტები
Digital platform and workflow development supported by AI Insider Georgia.