The village Tsvirmi comprises several painted churches, among them the church of the Archangels located in the Zagar district. The single nave two -storied church is dated to the 9th c. It is one of the oldest churches in Upper Svaneti. The interior of the ground floor is covered with murals and displays a rather developed program of the painting.

Georgian primitivism is often associated with Niko Pirosmani, although his work cannot be confined to that single category. His art engages with much broader pictorial traditions, and its uniqueness extends far beyond what is usually meant by naive or primitivist painting.

In 2001, an exceptionally valuable Georgian artefact, which had been considered lost since 1991, unexpectedly appeared at a Christie’s auction in Geneva. This outstanding ivory work, known as the Okoni Triptych Icon, had disappeared from the Tskhinvali Museum. At that time, Georgian jurisdiction no longer extended over the territory, and the loss was not officially reported by the museum.