Read our story - learn about the roots of One Caucasus Festival.
- in 2004 the group of Polish activists starts new festival in Warsaw. The festival is inspired by contemporary Caucasus (Caucasus in transition) and it is called Transkaukazja. From 2005 Transkaukazja festival is organized on bi-annual basis.
- In 2009 The Other Space Foundation - Warsaw-based NGO that is organizer of Transkaukazja, launches the other festival Artzona -- alternative Polish days in Tbilisi and other places of Caucasus. The festival opens new spaces for art expression - by using public spaces never used before for art projects or bringing musicians from various backgrounds and countries to create new music projects together.
- In meantime Transkaukazja festival is covering more and more countries - creating events in Austria, Czech, France, Germany, Poland, Portugal, Sweden, UK and Ukraine, and involving independent art organizations from all above mentioned countries and from Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia.
- During one of the Transkaukazja international co-ordinators meetings - Tarlan Gorchu, Transkaukazja curator from Azerbaijan inspires us to take a new approach - create project that would be more for whole Caucasus than its countries, focused on future of the region and aimed at youth from whole region.
- In 2012 we organize last edition of Artzona; in 2013 - Witek Hebanowski, Transkaukazja program director together with Lado Mekhtiev, who previously was involved in Artzona bring together team of activists and artists from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Poland and Ukraine - and start search for new spot in Georgia that would be located near the borders of Armenia and Azerbaijan. The spot would become later the home for One Caucasus festival.
- We find Marneuli region and together with its local government we organize first edition of One Caucasus festival in August 2014. Even having limited funds (mainly from Polish public donors - such as Ministry of Culture and National Heritage or Warsaw City Hall) we manage to bring international volunteers - architects, educators, artists, film-makers, activists from many countries - that make One Caucasus unique initiative.
- After first edition of the festival - together with Marneuli municipality we launch another program by bringing to Caucasus first ever participatory budget (2015). Inspired by similar projects in Poland and other places - the participatory budget in Georgia become unique with its scale (even more than 5% of the local budget) and with the consensus decision making. Following Marneuli other municipalities in Georgia join program (including: Gori, Sachhere, Borjomi),
- During years One Caucasus Festival becomes arguable most inspirational festival in whole Caucasus (learn more about what we achieved with festival in last years)
- In 2018 for the first time in history we organized Festival in another location - which was Poladauri in Bolnisi (around 13 km from Tserakvi)
- In 2019 we returned to Tserakvi - to offer you 4 days of unique experience of music, arts, education and fun. We got together the biggest number of bands/collectives (17) in history of festival, organized 10 various workshop initiatives and survived one big storm!
- in 2020 - in context of global pandemic - we launched special call call for co-creators and also solidarity message to all people of Marneuli and Bolnisi.
