Armenian Summer Festival

We are going to hold a Second Hand Book Bazaar for Armenian Summer Festival London this Sunday!

We’ve got amazing discounts on pre-loved Armenian history, poetry, travel, music, art & literature books and novels too! We’ve even got a selection of new books from our online shop - including a children’s section - which you can take home on the day or reserve & let us post to you!

Visit our stall to take part in our lucky dip (yes, they’re wrapped up!), happy hour deals & student discount. Plus, a special treat if you follow us across all social media platforms

Come along and see what treasures you may find!

Record label Young Turks Changes Name and Makes Donation to Armenian Institute

The Armenian Institute recently received a wholly unexpected phone call from a popular independent British record label. Young Turks, representing artists such as the xx, Jamie xx, FKA Twigs, and others, was about to announce the change of its name to Young on 6 April 2021. As their representative explained to AI Director Tatevik Ayvazyan, they had come to realise more fully the implications of the name’s associations with the Armenian Genocide, and wanted to disassociate themselves from it. They also wished to make a donation to a UK Armenian organisation and approached AI.

The full statement can be found on the company’s Instagram page. A number of major media outlets and magazines (The Guardian, BBC, Rolling Stone, NME, Clash and others) have also reported the story.

This change and donation is welcomed by AI as a generous gesture towards recognising the genocidal violence of the historical Young Turk regime. The brave decision was driven by the company itself, and sets an important example for all organisations worldwide which have adopted hurtful names and symbols. AI hopes this example encourages other organisations to pause for thought and be encouraged to take similar steps to recognise the pain and offence caused.

The donation to the Armenian Institute will support its activities and programmes, including two events held in April commemorating not only the Armenian Genocide, but also remembering our neighbours, fellow victim Assyrians and Greeks, as well as the Yezidi Genocide of 2014.

See the company’s announcement below:

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Treasures From The Library: New Podcast!

Our latest podcast series, Treasures From The Library, launches with our very own librarian Gagik Stepan-Sarkissian exploring Hrachya Acharian’s handwritten first edition etymological dictionary that came into our collection as part of Charles Dowsett’s library.

You can listen to our podcast on our website, as well as on all major streaming platforms:

Spotify: shorturl.at/nrDL4

Apple podcasts: shorturl.at/quyDJ

Google podcasts: shorturl.at/dgDIP

In our debut episode of Treasures From The Library, our very own librarian Gagik Stepan-Sarkissian details the history, contents and current relevance of Hrachia Acharian's etymological dictionary, hand-written in the early twentieth century after decades of studying the roots of Armenian words and compiling an ever-growing list.