New Exhibition Opened in Third Floor Gallery on Armenian Cartography

The Armenian Museum of America recently announced the opening of a new exhibition in the Terjenian-Thomas Gallery. “Merchants and Maps” highlights 17 original maps from our collection that illustrate Armenian cartography from the 1600’s to the 1900’s.

Curator Gary Lind-Sinanian explains that the art of map-making combines the disciplines of science, history, geography, and artistic calligraphy to depict a three-dimensional world in a two-dimensional form. In recent centuries, people rarely traveled further than 50 miles from their birthplace, so maps provided a glimpse of a vast unknown world of mystery and imagination.

Half of the maps in this new exhibition were produced in Venice by the Mekhitarist Order on the Island of San Lazzaro and were donated by Paul and Vicki Bedoukian. Extensive family networks and a gift for languages allowed Armenian merchants to dominate trade to Southeast Asia for centuries, adds Lind-Sinanian. This trade network understood the value of detailed maps, and many of the world maps on display are in the Armenian language. One large map is from the collection of Arakel Almasian, who is a long-time Trustee of the Museum.

This exhibition is supported by a generous donation made in memory of Alice and John Alabilikian.

Concert to Feature Quartet Led by Artyom Manukyan, One of the Most Innovative Cellists on Music Scene Today

Cellist Artyom Manukyan’s electro-jazz quartet will be streamed by the Armenian Museum of America in Watertown, MA, for its Online Concert on February 27 (Photograph by Hal Masonberg)

The Armenian Museum of America recently announced its 9th Online Concert featuring an exclusive performance by the Artyom Manukyan Quartet. This Armenia-based electro-jazz ensemble features Arman Mnatsakanyan (drums), Arman Peshtmaljyan (keyboards), Karen Mamikonyan (keyboards), and Artyom Manukyan (cello). The concert will be shown online on Sunday, February 27 at 1:00 pm EST (10:00 am PST and 10:00 pm in Yerevan).

Artyom Manukyan made his name as a musician in Armenia and traveled the world as the youngest member of the BBC World Music Award-winning Armenian Navy Band. He has performed internationally with the renowned world music band Night Ark. After the success of his debut album “Citizen,” Artyom performed with artists including rapper Everlast, Kamasi Washington, Melody Gardot, Flying Lotus, and Tigran Hamasyan.

Artyom has shown that the cello can be played in classical music, rock, and as the lead instrument in jazz. His virtuosity is equaled by his creativity and willingness to stretch himself with adventurous improvisations. His second solo album, “Alone,” was released in 2019. In between gigs with different bands, the multi-talented artist has even nurtured another musical passion, hip hop.

“Our Online Concert series has been a great success for highlighting the traditional as well as the new,” says Executive Director Jason Sohigian. “It is in this spirit that we are excited to present this concert by a young jazz quartet led by Artyom that includes the talented percussionist Arman Mnatsakanyan. We’re grateful for the support of the Dadourian Foundation, whose mission is to promote Armenian culture, and which makes the performance available for everyone online.”

“Our members have grown with the expansion of our online programming,” adds Sohigian. “By the end of 2021 we received several leadership gifts including a sponsorship from Michele Kolligian, President of our Board of Trustees, to continue the weekly video series from our curator highlighting objects in our collection, and a grant from the SJS Charitable Trust to support the Sound Archive program to digitize the 78 rpm records in our collection and make them accessible online.”

The Online Concert series is free and pre-registration is not required. The link will be available on Sunday, February 27 on the Museum’s Facebook page, YouTube Channel,

and website ArmenianMuseum.org. The Armenian Museum of America in Watertown, MA, is the largest Armenian museum in the diaspora. Its three floors of gallery space are open Fridays through Sundays from 12:00 noon to 6:00 pm.

Modern Art on Display Now in Our Third Floor Galleries

If you enjoy modern Armenian art, you’ll want to visit the Armenian Museum of America soon. We’ve got two contemporary art exhibitions on display, including eight paintings by the infamous Dr. Jack Kevorkian, and eight paintings from Armenia including the oversized work by Armen Adilkhanian (1959- ) pictured here.

The latter works were donated to our collection by the heirs of economist Norton Townsend Dodge, who amassed one of the largest collections of Soviet-era art outside the Soviet Union. His non-Armenian paintings were given to the Zimmerli Art Museum. One of the centerpieces of the Dodge exhibition is a large painting by Sarkis Hamalbashian (1956- ).

Art historian Tatyana Serraino recorded an exciting vlog about one of Hamalbashian’s works, which is available here.

Gallery Hours

Friday 12:00 noon to 6:00 pm

Saturday 12:00 noon to 6:00 pm

Sunday 12:00 noon to 6:00 pm

Admission

Armenian Museum Members: Free

Non-Members: $15/person

Students and Seniors: $5/person

Children under 18: Free

Location

65 Main Street

Watertown, MA 02472

(617) 926-2562

Museum Trustee Levon Saryan Wins Two Awards at Florida United Numismatists Coin Show

ORLANDO, FL--Museum Trustee and renowned collector Levon Saryan was awarded not one, but two prizes at the Florida United Numismatists coin show. This is one of the largest coin shows in the country.

Dr. Saryan was one of five numismatists chosen nationwide to receive the Numismatic Ambassador Award. The award recognizes more than 20 years of service to the numismatic hobby including writing, lecturing, coordinating a scout merit badge clinic, and serving in responsible positions for various organizations.

“For many years Levon has been curating Armenian coin and money displays and winning awards at prestigious coin shows,” explains fellow Trustee Charles Hajinian. “He has given talks and presented Armenian history to the world at these events, and we thank and congratulate him.”

At the same convention, Saryan mounted a competitive display of Armenian medals struck by the Mekhitarist congregations of Venice and Vienna commemorating significant events and personages in Armenian history. The display consisted of medals and related items, some over 100 years old, along with descriptions of their historical and cultural significance. Exhibits are judged on technical accuracy, rarity, and visual appeal. Saryan’s display received a second-place award in the category of medals and tokens.

Dr. Saryan is a retired biochemist and toxicologist. He is an overseas member of Armenia’s National Academy of Sciences, a co-founder of the Armenian Numismatic and Antiquities Society, and a prolific researcher and writer for the Armenian Numismatic Journal and other publications. He has curated virtual exhibitions on stamps and currency of the First Republic of Armenia (click here) and on ancient Armenian coinage (click here).

Looking Ahead to A Brand New Year

As we look ahead to the New Year, we wish to express our sincere gratitude for your commitment to our Mission to preserve and share Armenian art, history, and culture with the world. The Museum is open, and we could not be more pleased to see our members and friends back in our galleries.

Here’s a few milestones we managed to achieve:

• We hosted more than 1,000 visitors in our three floors of gallery space since re-opening in June.

• New objects are on display including Armenian jewelry, folk instruments, and contemporary art.

• Commercial grade HEPA air filters are installed in all of our galleries.

We are honored to be featured in the January issue of Harvard Magazine, where they write: "The Museum is a powerful experience for visitors, no matter how familiar they are with Armenian culture and history. It’s a testament not only to the layered ancient world, but to a peoples’ resilient drive to survive and flourish.”

Membership is at an all-time high, which will propel us into the coming year when we rotate objects on display, expand our interactive content, re-introduce youth programming, and host events celebrating our 50th anniversary.

Please join us with a tax-deductible end-of-year gift. With Armenians facing ethnic cleansing and cultural erasure in Artsakh, our Mission is more important now than ever.

We look forward to seeing you soon and will continue to update you on our plans for this momentous milestone year. In the meantime, we wish you a happy and a healthy New Year.