around the studio turns evangelical baptist church into café installation

inside the café iris by Around the Studio

Tbilisi-based Around the Studio presents its furniture designs inside the Evangelical Baptist Church of Georiga, transforming the religious site into a temporary space dubbed Café Iris. The installation offers visitors a chance to enjoy a series of collectively organized gatherings and activities, information about which was published gradually. Through this intervention, representatives of several fields united in the communal café and offered various programs to guests. Studio founders Ano Jishkariani and Tika Shelia continued to work with their habitual interdisciplinary approach, where the daily processes of the local environment become integral aspects of their projects.

Café Iris in the Evangelical Baptist Church | all images courtesy Around the Studio

observing behavior inside the Evangelical Baptist Church

Against the current background of a lack of thorough cultural politics and open public institutions, the Peace Cathedral is pinpointed as one of the essential contemporary social spaces in the artistic scene. The Evangelical-Baptist Church, with its work and blatant statements, was relevant for the inter-religious congregation and the wider society. During the exhibition, several hosts invited by the organizers received guests in Café Iris for one day. The aesthetic forms of communal communication depicted by the installation and interactive activities added day-to-day functions to the existing ritual space. By observing naturally occurring objects in the local environment, Around the Studio’s current project explores people, their relational behaviors, and demands. Independent objects are completely based on the needs dictated by the surroundings.

Around the Studio’s Dough Supra Table

an exhibition around georgian-crafted furniture

‘As a result, we noticed the collection referencing handicraft inventories spotted on the streets of Tbilisi, a coating that came by while rolling dough in Meskheti, and a product inspired by school furniture,’ share the founders. The primary material featured in the collection is Georgian natural felt, a signature element of Around the Studio’s style crafted by local women in Georgian regions. The setting of the stage and the simple movement of independent objects according to their purpose aroused the feeling of temporality, which once again reminds us of the importance of public spaces and their duty to reflect clear challenges at each new stage concurrently.

Tbilisi street chair and table

the installation / café by Around the Studio welcomes visitors to a series of gatherings

School Chair, stainless steel, felt

Tbilisi Street Chair, felt, stainless steel, oak

Tbilisi Street Table, stainless steel, oak

Dough Supra Table and Random Chair

1/5

project info:

name: Café IRIS
designers: Ano Jishkariani, Tika Shelia / Around the Studio

designboom has received this project from our DIY submissions feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: lea zeitoun | designboom

tikashelia

feb 14, 2024