Visit Armenian artists’ museum houses in three short films before meeting the filmmaker
The Armenian Institute invites you to a screening of short documentary films on Thursday 19 November from 6.30pm, featuring writer, filmmaker and producer Christopher Atamian.
Atamian will present three of his films from House Culture, his documentary series for the independent Armenian media platform CivilNet. The films explore the lives and work of three significant figures in Armenian cultural history: poet Yeghishe Charents, artist and ethnographer Lusik Aguletsi, and filmmaker Sergei Parajanov. All three films are in English. Following the screenings, Atamian will join the audience for a discussion about the making of the series, the people and places it documents, and the importance of preserving Armenia’s cultural heritage.
House Culture visits Armenia’s historic house museums, or doon tankarans, where artists, writers and filmmakers once lived and worked. Through their homes, personal possessions and collections, the series considers how places and objects can preserve memories of individuals and communities.
The House Culture series explores how architecture, objects, and lived spaces connect past and present, creating a unique portrait of Armenia's rich cultural landscape. Blending documentary filmmaking with historical reflection, the films celebrate the creators who helped shape the soul of a nation whose artistic traditions stretch back millennia.
“In Armenia, culture is not simply celebrated—it is lived,” said Atamian. “It gives me great pleasure to present the lives of renowned Armenian writers and artists to audiences who may never have heard of them before, or who know only fragments of their work.”
Yeghishe Charents — One of Armenia’s best-known poets and an important figure in modern Armenian literature. His work challenged literary conventions and helped shape Armenian poetry in the 20th century.
Lusik Aguletsi — An artist, self-taught anthropologist and cultural preservationist who was displaced from her ancestral village of Agulis in Nakhichevan. Her collection of more than 1,000 objects reflects her lifelong interest in Armenian folk traditions and cultural history.
Sergei Parajanov — A filmmaker whose distinctive visual style challenged conventional approaches to cinema. Sometimes described as the “Fellini of the Caucasus”, Parajanov remains an important influence on filmmakers and artists internationally.
Founded in 2011, CivilNet is an independent Armenian media platform focused on democratic development, human rights and civil society in Armenia.
The House Culture creative team comprises Christopher Atamian (writer, producer and narrator), Hasmik Hovhannisyan (producer), Maria Yeghiazarian (producer), Ani Balayan (editor and camera), Tigran Margaryan (camera), Gevorg Haroyan (camera), and Salpi Ghazarian (supervising producer).
Meet the Speaker
Christopher is an award-winning curator, translator and filmmaker who has written for leading publications, including The New York Times, The Huffington Post, and The Brooklyn Rail. He is the former dance critic for The New York Press and currently writes a monthly column, “Art Speak,” for EVN Report.
Christopher has curated both art and film, including 12 exhibitions for the non-profit Nor Alik, which he founded. With Tamar Hovsepian, he co-created Atamian Hovsepian Curatorial Practice in May, 2022 with a focus on experimental and conceptual art by underrepresented voices, including women, LGBTQ+, and SWANA. There, he has presented and curated some forty exhibitions and special events. In 2026 he curated Mikayel Ohanjanyan’s Legami: Ties that Bind at mudaC, Carrara, Italy’s flagship museum of contemporary art, and is producing a documentary on artist Anna Boghiguian. Christopher has written and translated seven books, and edited art catalogues for curators Adelina von Furstenberg and Neery Melkonian. An alumnus of Harvard University, USC Film School and Columbia Business School, Christopher received a Fulbright Scholarship to attend the ETH Zürich, a Bronfman Scholarship in Democratic Enterprise, two Tölölyan Literary Prizes, and the Ellis Island Medal of Honor. He has been nominated for a National Book Award and a Pulitzer Prize. His music videos have aired on MTV and screened at festivals such as the Golden Apricot (Yerevan), the Arpa Film Festival (LA), and the Tokyo International Short Film Festival.
Before dedicating himself to the arts, Christopher worked for twenty years in senior positions at leading advertising and communications agencies, including Ogilvy Interactive, KX Associates, Hill + Knowlton Consulting and as VP of Branding Globally at J.P. Morgan l-Bank.