Mother Armenia/Hayastan
Created by Harut Tumaghyan and Armen of Armenia (Ohanyan)
Hayastan (Armenia) is a graphic essay that explores the relationship between contemporary Armenia, its past and a future that is in the making. The work, by Harut Tumaghyan and Armen of Armenia (Ohanyan) delves into the country’s socio-political and cultural context.
The iconic statue of Mother Armenia, who has watched over the city — and the country — for over half a century from her pedestal descends hoping to rest her swollen feet. However, finding her way back to her pedestal proves to be a quest full of difficult conversations, realizations and pivotal decisions.
The graphic essay is a long-term project that has developed in parallel to the realities of our times, posing an allegorical and creative response. Part I (2021) is a reflection on the raw, post-war defeat and the collective sense of failure leading to Part II (2023), when Hayastan faces her worst fears and wakes up to an impending sense of unease.
Part III will be presented at the 2024 EVN Media Fest. Come and see the ongoing adventures of Hayastan, narrated live by Armen of Armenia, followed by an open conversation.
↳At NCA, Sayat-Nova entrance
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Archive-mine
“Slap” The “Godless” …
Curated by Shamiram Khachatryan & EVN Report
An homage to the rich, yet overlooked history of Armenian editorial illustrations, the “Archive-mine” exhibition reveals works published in more than a dozen different Armenian periodicals in the last century, from Cairo to Istanbul, London to Tehran, Tbilisi and Yerevan. The satirical grit, the acerbic precision of illustrators like Alexander Saroukhan, Josef Rotter, Michael Hovikian, Dev and many others still resonate with the cultural, political, social and geopolitical realities of Armenia and Armenians. They are a testament to not only the role of the media to hold up a mirror to its readers but of the media’s innate predisposition to witness and relay its own times.
↳At NCA, Abovyan entrance
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Anatomy of a Protest:The Karabakh Movement in Avetik Hovhannisyan’s 1988 Photographs
Curated by Vigen Galstyan
The oeuvre of photographer Avetik Hovhannisyan (1960-1988) is unknown to the wider public, yet Hovhannisyan’s first exhibition within the framework of EVN Media Festival promises to reveal the remarkable documentary significance of his tragically short-lived career. A passionate and dedicated amateur, Hovhannisyan dreamed of becoming a professional photojournalist but was murdered at the age of 28 under unresolved circumstances. With the onset of “Perestroika” and the Karabakh Freedom Movement, the young photographer became involved in various underground civic and activist circles, and was on the streets of Yerevan everyday, documenting the great wave of anti-Soviet protests and the violence perpetrated by the Communist regime that would eventually lead to its collapse. His extensive archive consists of over a thousand negatives and prints depicting this tumultuous period in Soviet and Armenian history. Aside from being a tremendous historical document, this collection, held by the ManBan Visual Culture Archive, also enables us to expand our understanding of photography’s uses as a tool for political and social activism during Armenia’s transition at the close of the 20th century.
↳At NCA, Abovyan entrance [downstairs]
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Absolute/Obsolete
As a tool for mass persuasion, the Soviet propaganda poster, in abundance, through a strictly stylized language and iconic status, penetrated every state institution, factory and public space throughout the republics. The reminder to abide, believe and work toward a set goal was soon abandoned on the walls of decrepit factories along with the Soviet ideology it delivered.
The exhibition is a collection of personal responses by different artists, writers and photographers to the echo of the Russia-led influence that lingers long past the decay of its posters.
↳At NCA, Abovyan entrance [downstairs]
