Watertown, November 2, 2017
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CHRIS EDWARDS (ESKANDARIAN): Changing gender and the powerful role family played in his transition
Thursday, November 16, 2017 at 7 pm
Q&A and book signing/reception immediately following the presentation.
In honor of Transgender Awareness Month, Boston advertising creative director Chris Edwards, son of Ed & Nancy Eskandarian, discusses life before, during and after his gender transition in heartfelt and hilarious detail. He describes the fear and relief of coming out to his parents and sisters as well as his extended family of Armenians or “Armos” as he likes to call them, and explains the powerful role their support played in his success both at home and at work. His memoir BALLS: It Takes Some to Get Some is an Amazon bestseller, Foreword Reviews Indies gold-winner and rated one of the best books of the year by Shelf Awareness.
About Chris Edwards
Chris Edwards made his advertising debut in 1993 as a copywriter at Arnold Worldwide, a high-profile ad agency in Boston. There he used the principles of branding and marketing, along with his ever-present sense of humor, to orchestrate what was quite possibly the most widely accepted and embraced gender transition of its kind––at a time when the word “transgender” didn’t exist.
After building an award-winning career spanning nearly twenty years, Chris left his Arnold post as EVP, Group Creative Director to write his memoir, BALLS: It Takes Some to Get Some. Since then he’s become a sought-after speaker, keynoting at conferences and inspiring audiences at places like Apple, Google and Harvard with his courageous story and compelling message that we all have the power to control how others define us.
About the Armenian Museum of America
The Armenian Museum of America houses and preserves objects of art and culture collected from Armenian families and donors from around the world. The Museum holds its collection in trust for future generations as objects of witness and survival to serve as a record of Armenian creativity, ingenuity, and wisdom for those who are familiar with Armenian history and culture, as well as for those to whom these objects, manuscripts, and ephemera are a new experience.
Museum Website www.armenianmuseum.org
Museum Contact: Berj Chekijian
berjc@armenianmuseum.org
617-926-2562
Armenian Museum of America, 65 Main St., Watertown, MA 02472
Parking: Watertown Municipal lots behind the Museum.
Public Transportation: Bus 59 from Needham, 70 from Waltham Commuter
Rail/Cambridge Central Square, 70a from Waltham Commuter Rail/Cambridge Central Square, 71 from Harvard Square.
Museum Hours: Thursday–Sunday 12–6 pm, Wednesday by appointment.