Before coming to NY, I went to Germany where I participated in creating a scenic design for the theater performance. At that time, I was 19 years old and was in my first year of Bachelors at the Tbilisi State Academy of Arts. I set a goal to continue my studies in Europe or the US after graduating in my home country. The New York Academy of Art was my first choice, which is one of the best graduate art schools for representational art. Nevertheless NY is the place where the competition is the toughest, particularly in the art scene. In 2014, I won the Academy Scholar Merit Award of NYAA, an educational scholarship from my home country and was also granted a full-tuition academic scholarship award of International Education Center and a Portrait Scholarship Award of NYAA. So, I moved to US, which became a new stage of my creative life, where lots of great things started to happen. New York accepted me and I accepted New York as my second home. The dynamism and chaos raving in this city is something that I was looking for as an artist. The strength and vitality of the urban culture fills me with inspiration and I enjoy its constant movement. I see lots of different directions and appreciate the cultural diversity of this city, which grants various opportunities to skilled, hard-working and motivated individuals.



