On December 2, Consul (a.h.) Thelmo Cunanan Jr. paid an official courtesy call on Professor Davit Lordkipanidze, General Director of the Georgian National Museum.

Consul Cunanan was accompanied by Dr. Lela Tsitsuashvili of the Shota Amiranashvili Museum of Fine Arts in Tbilisi, master Filipino painter and visual artist Pancho Piano, and Georgian Consulate public relations director Melissa Dizon.

Consul Cunanan and his colleagues were in Georgia for the holding of the “Colors of Hope”, an exhibition of Mr. Piano’s work organized by the Georgian Consulate in partnership with Professor Lordkipanidze and Dr. Tsitsuashvili. Mr. Piano is the first Filipino painter to formally exhibit his work in Georgia and the Caucasus.

During the meeting, Consul Cunanan thanked Professor Lordkipanidze for his help and support for the “Colors of Hope” exhibition. He also expressed keen interest in establishing formal ties between the Georgian National Museum and its counterpart institutions in the Philippines. Consul Cunanan has already begun talks on the matter with officials of the Philippine National Museum. Consul Cunanan and Professor Lordkipanidze also discussed several areas of possible collaboration, including exhibitions in the Philippines in 2015.

Consul Cunanan is a staunch supporter and promoter of Georgian culture and has held talks in many universities about the country’s natural heritage and cultural diversity. After the meeting, the Philippine delegation was taken on a private tour of the Georgian National Museum by Dr. Tsitsuashvili.