The Armenian Institute has turned 20! In 2001 a group of friends decided that London was an ideal place to begin a new Armenian organisation that would build on opportunities and create new ones. The name Armenian Institute (AI) or Հայ Հիմնարկ (Hay Himnarg) was chosen to reflect the hope that this bringing together of people and ideas would take on a purposeful structure and longevity beyond the early casual connections.
Over the last two decades we’ve been proud to become London and the UK’s primary hub for Armenian culture and the arts. Over time we’ve matured into a leading Diaspora organisation with global recognition, run by talented staff members assisted by dedicated trustees and advisors. This growth has only been possible with the support of our friends and benefactors, our AI family. We invite you to join us in continuing to build AI as a space that is relevant and exciting, a place to learn about Armenians and enjoy Armenian culture.
Your donation, however big or small, will ensure that we can continue in our mission to make Armenian history and culture a living experience for people of all ages and backgrounds; to connect with our neighbours historic and present; to host sometimes difficult but always important conversations; and to provide a platform for under-represented and marginalised experiences in Armenian and related communities. All funds raised will go directly towards supporting the wide programme of innovative, engaging, educational, and timely events and keeping our library and archives accessible. To donate visit our GoFundMe page here.
To celebrate our 20th anniversary we’ve developed a wide range of exciting activities, including special events and series, podcasts, an online exhibition, digital projects and more, which you can read all about below.
To celebrate our 20th anniversary we’ve developed a full programme of special events that showcase everything that’s unique about AI. We begin with a special series on the Armenian language with the world’s premier Armenian linguist, Dr. Hrach Martirosyan. The Notes That Bind Us is an online concert hosted by Ara Dinkjian with friends from across the global Armenian community as well as neighbours past and present. Armenian Libraries and Collections is an all-star panel discussion with major Armenian librarians.
We’ll be announcing more events in the near future so make sure to keep checking this page!
Upcoming Projects
A Window To Our Past
Our first digital exhibition of our archive and library collection, curated by our library team Gagik Stepan-Sarkissian and Sahika Erkonan, showcasing some rare and unseen gems.
Adopt a Collection
As part of our goal to raise £20,000 to support our next 20 years, we’re launching our Adopt A Collection campaign. Support one of our collections or bookshelves in your name, or dedicate it to a loved one, and engage in a unique, environmentally-friendly and meaningful way of supporting AI’s ongoing projects.
Podcasts
Join us for a sonic programme dedicated to the unheard stories of AI and its formation over the years. In this exclusive 20th anniversary series, we begin by looking back to the very first members of AI’s founding team, remembering friends we’ve lost and reminiscing with those involved in our earliest events and throughout the past 20 years. To close the series we’re looking forward: sharing hopes for the future of AI and an exclusive conversation between with our language tutors, who have been preserving the Armenian language and maintaining one of the founding visions of the Armenian Institute since our earliest days.
We held an exclusive conversation with our dear friend, Ara Dinkjian, in conversation with trustee Richard Anooshian and director Tatevik Ayvazyan ahead of our musical event: The Notes That Bind Us.
Digitisation
We’ve been busy digitising some of our library treasures that we wanted to share with a wider audience. As a birthday gift from us to you, we’re releasing a free Kindle version of Lord Byron and P. Paschal Aucher’s A Grammar: Armenian and English. Before the New Year you’ll also be able to purchase Kindle versions of Tell Me Bella by Vahan Totovents and Soviet Armenian Poetry translated and edited by Mischa Kudian.
