Mayor Katjana Ballantyne and the Somerville Arts Council (SAC), along with the Program on Georgian Studies at Harvard University’s Davis Center invite the community to Exchanging Notes, a first of its kind cross-cultural exchange between Georgia, Somerville and Cambridge.  

In June 2023, Owen Thomas, a Somerville resident and writer, and Max Evrard, the music director at Somerville High School, left for the country of Georgia, where they undertook an artistic collaboration with their Georgian counterparts, musician Aleksandre Kharanauli and writer and poet Nana Abuladze. After collaborating on artistic projects over the summer, this international quartet of artists will present their artistic projects this September in Somerville and Cambridge —a celebration of songs and stories that fuse Georgian and American themes, connect cultures, and enrich our common humanity. Special guests at both events will be the members of the choir from Somerville High School. 

Schedule of Events: 

About the events
The performances at the Svedenborg Chapel and Somerville High School will begin with music from Aleksandre Kharanauli, Max Evrard, and members of the Somerville High School Choir. Aleksandre, a talented Georgian musician, will introduce us to the sounds of the Chuniri and Doli, traditional mountain folk instruments, and together with Evrard, will explore the rich tapestry of Georgian polyphony alongside American musical styles. This collaboration will illuminate the remarkable musical and storytelling heritage of both Georgia and the US. 

After a short intermission, Nana Abuladze and Owen Thomas will share their stories, written over the course of the summer exchange. How do we shape stories? How do stories shape us? Owen Thomas and Nana Abuladze will present their own works of fiction and non-fiction and discuss the common aspects of story-telling and writing across cultures. They will take us through the culture and history of Georgia, explore the Georgian language and the differences and similarities between Georgian and American culture.  They discuss racism, colonialism (Georgia was part of the Russian empire), the role of gender, the notion of fatherhood and womanhood. 

Both evenings will culminate with a Q & A session focusing on the creative process and how it works in collaborations across widely different cultures. Each evening will feature different songs and stories and will engage the audience.   

On Saturday night, we invite you to come to Union Square, Somerville for an international celebration at the Ignite Festival. Aleksandre and Max will perform a few songs, while Nana and Owen will set up an “Exchanging Stories” table for some informal storytelling sessions. Also on hand will be the Jana Grill restaurant, serving up delicious Georgian food! 

Presenting Artists

Nana Abuladze; nana.abuladze.1@iliauni.edu.ge 

Nana is a fiction writer and literary scholar from Tbilisi, Georgia. She is the author of three books. Her debut novel Akumi [“აკუმი“], received the two most prestigious literary prizes in Georgia — the Saba and Litera prizes — and explore themes of gender, sexuality, and identity. Her second book, The New Perception (A Mass for Women Soloists and a Mixed Choir) is a collection of stories about female biblical characters. It was nominated for the Tsinandali Award (an annual award for artists and scholars under 30). Nana’s third book discusses gender and authorship in 20th-century Georgian fiction and has been nominated for this year’s Saba. 

Nana was a 2022 fall resident at the University of Iowa International Writing Program. A two-month stay in the U.S. inspired her to write her first poems in English, “The Lovers” and “The Water Tower.” The latter appeared in the 69th Voice and Verse Poetry Magazine issue. “The Lovers” was published in The Writers of Loam, a poetry anthology (Iowa City). 

Maxwell Evrard; max.evrard@gmail.com 

Max directs choirs and teaches music at Somerville High School and Pilgrim Congregational Church in Lexington, Massachusetts. He holds a bachelor’s degree in music from DePaul University and a master’s in music education from Florida State University, which led him to teaching and musicology. Drawing from diverse genres, Max illuminates the universal languages of music. A skilled multi-instrumentalist and vocalist, Max lives in Lexington with his partner and their daughter, and dogs Bowie and Bongo. 

Aleksandre Kharanauli; aleksandre.kharanauli@gmail.com 

Aleksandreis a Georgian folk and rock musician and TV producer. His debut album, “Dilit Amomavalo Mzeo” (“The Morning Rising Sun”), gained critical acclaim in Georgia. The album consists of ten songs influenced by Georgian mountain folk music, poetry, and contemporary folk and rock. You can hear Aleksandre’s work on Spotify and YouTube. 

Owen Thomas; owen.thomas@goddard.edu 

Owen is a father, writer, and educator from the Boston area. He is currently pursuing his MFA at Goddard College. He believes that we are constantly in the presence of stories and that taking the time to acknowledge that fact – to tell our stories and to listen to the stories of others – is an essential part of living. 

Presenting Organizations 

 About the Program on Georgian Studies at the Davis Center, Harvard University 

The Program encourages research on Georgia and the South Caucasus at Harvard, fosters collaboration between Georgian and American academics and students, and promotes knowledge of the region to the broader Boston community. 

About the Somerville Arts Council 

The mission of the Somerville Arts Council (SAC) is to cultivate and celebrate the creative expressions of the Somerville community. Through innovative collaborations and quality programming we work to make the arts an integral part of life reflective of our diverse city. SAC runs numerous festivals, creates public art, runs cultural initiatives – from the Nibble culinary program to the Mystic River Mural Project for youth – and is keenly focused on ensuring artists will always have a space to create, display and perform within Somerville.