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Creatively focused and noteworthy
Photo credit: Norayr Kasper, "I Will Talk to You About Time." Fotoistanbul 2015.Join our community and receive regular updates!
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From Van to Sherman: Unearthing the unfinished legacy of Arshile Gorky
Arshile Gorky’s pioneering art has made him the subject of several books, documentaries, and even a nonprofit foundation dedicated to understanding his work. Yet, his revolutionary legacy also lives on outside of the art world—in one of the most unexpected of places—his home. We ventured to find this artistic oasis and, in doing so, learned more about the man behind the painting. This year marks the 70th anniversary of Gorky’s passing and the unassuming farmhouse that once inspired one of the 20th century’s best painters continues to inspire new generations.
The magic of a boring sandwich: Reflections from an Armenian cemetery in Kharpert
If you could have dinner with any person in the world—dead or alive—who would you choose? My answer, every time, is my great grandparents. Many of us have us wondered how we would feel if we ever ventured to the lands from which we have collectively been exiled for the last four generations. Upon returning from my trip to Western Armenia, I encountered the spirit of our ancestors and their will to build again, love again, and rejoice again, in the most unlikely of places: a sandwich.
100 years in 10 days: (Re)Discovering Sasun and the beauty of the Armenian Highlands
One of the few constants in my life has been Sasun, a land on which no living relative has ever set foot. In the summer of 2017, I had the opportunity to discover the homeland of my ancestors, and along the way, encountered a lost branch of my family tree— of our collective Armenian family. Our survivor great-grandparents would describe those who were “left behind” during the genocide. These Armenians remained in what became the Republic of Turkey and were forced to hide or completely forgo their Armenian identities, living out the rest of their days as Kurds or Turks. We had the privilege to meet with some of these “Hidden Armenians,” who taught us that, just as 19th-century Sasun is impossible to imagine without Armenians, an Armenian resurgence in 21st-century Sasun can only happen with their inclusion.
Hamazkayin ArtLinks: Engaging the newest generation of the diaspora
Hamazkayin’s ArtLinks is an annual weekend-long forum for diasporan youth aged 21-35 to come together and participate in workshops and panel discussions helmed by some of the most creative minds and souls of our community: leading (as well as budding) artists, writers, journalists, musicians, actors, and activists. Last summer was the fourth installment of the program, which has doubled in size since its inaugural year, quickly becoming one of the most popular and stimulating events for Armenian youth in North America. Read on to know why!
Uncovering the 'Hidden Road' to Armenia’s most isolated communities
Too often, diasporans have admired Armenia from afar with an idealistic gaze, becoming disappointed when she does not meet their lofty expectations. The defeatist slogan of '"yerkiruh yerkir chi" (“the country is not a country”) propagated by locals has corroded many good efforts at cleansing the nation of its ills. But alongside the ringing nihilism, a vibrant, positive force has taken hold in Armenia. A new generation of diasporans and locals—the post-Soviet babies—has grown up with the nascent republic and, using youthful sensibility, is building a nation worthy of its citizens. One such example is the Hidden Road Initiative (HRI), a nonprofit aimed at supplying rural, mostly isolated villages in Armenia with the tools to live and thrive in their local environments
