Wato Tsereteli is an artist, curator and author. He successfully graduated from Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp in 1998. While he had enough opportunities to build artistic career in Europe he preferred to return back to Georgia and startup creative institutions and platforms that break ground for contemporary art scene in Georgia.
In 2000 Wato Tsereteli together with a group of artists and researchers initiated Media Art Farm (MAF) - the first in Georgia platform for education, research and development of contemporary art. The Institute of Photography and New Media - the first in Georgia four year accredited bachelor program in Photography and New Media was part of MAF. Later the institute joined Tbilisi Fine Art Academy as the first ever department of photography.
Wato Tsereteli was an Associate Professor of Media Arts at Tbilisi Fine Academy 2009 when he initiated a new institution - the Center of Contemporary Art - Tbilisi. CCA - Tbilisi has become an international educative and cultural platform with core activity: 9 month informal master program: Creative Mediation. The study program based on Beuysian insight of Social Sculpture makes students to develop social innovation projects by directing artistic thinking from studio to the social reality.
The study program not being based on any academic curriculum but worked out by Wato Tsereteli has proved successful and got international recognition. It has been invited to international educational exhibitions and symposia like Frieze Projects Simpozium: Working Across Divides, London 2017; Exhibition and workshops: Make Your School, VT Artsalon, Taipei, Taiwan 2018; Korean Research Fellow 10X10, 10 Global Curators X 10 Korean Curators, 2018; Art and design education: Future Lab, Shanghai 2019.
Besides educational programs Wato Tsereteli has curated international art shows among which are: Appendix 2 Tbilisi with participation of Harum Farouki, Atelier Van Lieshout etc; Untrue Stories, Tbilisi History Museum 2004 with participation of Lisa Selander, Leif Elggren etc; Utopia, Documentary Photography from the South Caucasus, IFA Gallery Berlin 2005; Writing With Colour, 17 conceptual painters from Georgia, CCA-Tbilisi 2011. Nordic Art between miracles with Eva Koch, Sasha Huber, Lesley Johnson 2013; Re-museum with Thea Jorjadze, Klaus Weber, Gio Sumbadze, Tbilisi National Gallery 2014; The echoes with Chubika, Art in General, NY, 2015; Spying Future, 17 artists from Georgia at Claipedos Center for Culture and Communication Lithuania 2017; Rivers Magic Garden, Tbilisi 2019 with Naranda Raghunath, David Prieth, Mamuka Jafaridze…
Since 2012 Wato Tsrereli has become initiator, co-curator and artistic director of Tbilisi International Triennial. The first triennial had the concept: Offside Effect – reflecting on non-accredited and alternative education systems worldwide. In 2015 the Second Tbilisi Triennial covered SOS Self Organized Systems; the third Tbilisi Triennial – The Will featured Franz Graf, Veronica Trancoso, Fabrizio Carola…
Wato Tsereteli has participated in art exhibitions as well as wrote and edited publications like: Re-museum, interview with Charles Esher, Peter Noever, Carl Pruscha 2012; Tbilisi Archive of Transition, Niggly 2018; Inventory and Processes: perspectives for development CCA-Tbilisi, 2018.