Modern and Contemporary Art in Armenia by Armen Yesayants

Dr Armen Yesayants’ talk on modern and contemporary art in Armenia on 23 January fascinated, touched and inspired the large audience attending. Sharing wonderful stories and images, Dr Yesayants, director of exhibitions at Cafesjian Center for the Arts, talked us through the incredibly important work being done at the Center, gathering, preserving and exhibiting the work of the most important contemporary Armenian artists, whether from Armenia or Diaspora.

A visual feast of artworks of Yervand Kochar, Hakob Hakobian, Robert Elibekyan, Arto Tchakmaktchian, Marcos Grigorian, Rudolf Khachatryan and others was shown. Among many funny and entertaining anecdotes about the artists, there were a few heartbreaking ones as well - those who were not being appreciated and recognised during their lifetime, and of artworks being spread in private collections never to be seen. Dr. Yesayants’ message was clear: cherish your artists while they’re alive.

It was great to finish the evening with a wine reception and discuss plans for future collaboration with the Cafesjian Center.

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Hrant Dink's Memory in Action

Since 2007, on 19th January every year thousands gather outside the old Agos newspaper office in Istanbul, now the newly-opened Site of Memory, to remember Hrant Dink. The Armenian Institute has held a similar commemoration for the last 13 years in London, to gather Armenians, Turks, Kurds and the wider international community to mark Hrant Dink’s life and unjust murder.

In 2020 we wanted to focus on the legacy he has left behind, aptly titled Hrant Dink's memory drives action: sorrow turns to hope. We invited Nayat Karoköse, the programme coordinator for the Hrant Dink Foundation in Istanbul, to talk about the work of the foundation and the recently opened 23.5 Hrant Dink Site of Memory.

A place of tribute, remembrance and reflection, it is a space for visitors to learn more about Hrant's life, his contribution to the discourse around human rights in Turkey, and a space for visitors to share their ideas and thoughts about the world, especially those who seek to support freedom, open dialogue and democracy. Nayat's presentation demonstrated how Hrant's tragic death brought about action and greater unity among disparate communities who share common values. The site was officially opened last summer and welcomed the Mayor of Istanbul recently. 

We were honoured to have Huberta von Voss-Wittig, executive director of the Institute for Strategic Dialogue Germany, who read an excerpt of an interview with Hrant which featured in her book, Portraits of Hope, Armenians in the Contemporary World. The evening closed with a beautiful rendition of Bingyol by Kurdish/Alevi singer Suna Alan, a favourite song of Hrant's. 

The Armenian Institute wishes to thank our board member, Nouritza Matossian, an author, activist and a friend of Hrant's who has led the commemoration events each year for us. Also, St Yegiche Church, the Vache and Tamara Manougian Foundation for granting us this beautifully inspiring venue, and Viken Halajian and Lorees Arakelian for assisting us. Many thanks to Vahakn Matossian Gehlhaar for his technical support and finally special thanks to Hasan Demir, owner of Zara Restaurant South End Green, Hampstead for providing all the drinks and food on the night. 

by Tatiana der Avedissian (board member and advisor for AI )

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''Karine'' screening

‘Karine’ is no ordinary film, but an incredible fusion of an Ottoman operetta and Soviet Armenian filmmaking, directed by an Iranian-Armenian filmmaker Arman Manarian. It features a cast of almost exclusively diasporan artists, who immigrated to Armenia and is sung by the biggest stars of the Armenian opera, Gohar Gasparyan and Tigran Levonyan. The film marries the joyful storylines and melodies of the operetta to its unusual, stunning set and cinematography. 

We were very pleased to partner with Kino Klassika in screening this entertaining gem at the beautiful cinema of the Institut Francais, Cine Lumiere. There were lots of interesting facts and analysis to be learned before the screening from the panel discussion with sociologist Dr Hratch Tchilingirian, opera singer Aris Nadirian, and curator Justine Waddel. We heard about the incredible backstory of ‘Leblebiji Hor-Hor Aga’, written in Turkish, then translated into many other languages, staged in various countries, and then being renamed and adapted into a much-loved film in Armenia. 

But most importantly, we laughed a lot - we laughed at our angry chickpea seller, and the groom scheming how to marry Karine without her father’s approval, his bossy aunt and the confused baker acting as a priest. It was wonderful to hear Western Armenian - sadly an endangered language now - sounding so lively and vibrant. 

Here are some pictures from the reception after the screening and it was wonderful to catch up with old and new friends.

You can also listen to one of the most famous songs - The Chorus of Leblebijis here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAdvD_uCRTk

Items to sell and give away

As many of you already know, we are moving soon. We will have a brand new space, which will enable us to hold more events and work even more closely with the community. But before we move, there are certain items we’d like to sell or give away – check the gallery of some the items below and get in touch with us if you’re interested.  

I Ask You, Ladies and Gentlemen

We received a precious delivery on 17 November 2019 – 77 boxes of I Ask You, Ladies and Gentlemen by Leon Surmelian, our latest publication. The idea to re-publish the out-of-print book was the brainchild of our trustee Richard Anooshian, who also supported the project financially.

Thanks to the efforts of our team, re-publication of the 1945 bestseller became a reality: you can read all about the book here and order it here.

We have already held two book launches, at the Wiener Holocaust Library and the Nevarte Gulbenkian Hall and are so pleased how well the book was received.

Language Classes

We concluded the first trimester of our language classes in December. Our Eastern and Western Armenian classes, with a total of 34 students, are divided into 3 levels – basic, intermediate and advanced and we have a wonderful group of students, taught by Gagik Stepan-Sarkissian (Eastern Armenian) and Sona Kalenderian (Western Armenian).   A new tradition was introduced after this trimester: some of our students made presentations about their preferred subject in Armenian.

We had 3 volunteers this time, talking about Kafka’s ‘Metamarphosis’; Armenian painter Carzou, and digitising our latest publication, I Ask You, Ladies and Gentlemen.

Here are our proud teachers with their students. We look forward to more student presentation events in the future. For more information on language classes get in touch with us or check this page.