Photography and Installation Explore Issues of Dislocation and Cultural Identity

displaced #36, On Arax St., Nor Marash, 2018

The Armenian Museum of America (AMofA) recently announced the opening of its next contemporary art exhibition, “Ara Oshagan: Disrupted, Borders.” The show follows the AMofA’s blockbuster exhibit, “On the Edge: Los Angeles Art 1970s-1990s from the Joan and Jack Quinn Family Collection,” which received rave reviews and was viewed by thousands of visitors.

“Disrupted, Borders” at AMofA is an expanded version of what was previously exhibited at Stockton University Art Gallery in New Jersey, and the show is being curated by Ryann Casey. “This exhibition connects many of the diasporic and homeland entanglements that have occupied me over the past decade or more, from Los Angeles to Beirut to Artsakh,” states Oshagan. “The works articulate a certain ‘diasporic liberation,’ as so well stated by Hyperallergic editor Hrag Vartanian in his introductory essay about the exhibit.”

The exhibition combines photography, collage, installation, and film, the last of which runs in the AMofA’s Rose and Gregory A. Kolligian Media Room. “The installation at Stockton was quite impressive in person and we knew this was something we wanted to bring to our Adele and Haig Der Manuelian Galleries,” says Executive Director Jason Sohigian. “Ara’s photography is from the diaspora in Los Angeles and Beirut, as well as Armenia and Artsakh so it connects many historical elements with contemporary issues facing Armenians today.”

More than 55 works are on display including a massive mural from Oshagan’s Beirut Memory Project, as well as six large medieval manuscripts printed on fabric and overlain with photographs of people from Shushi, Artsakh. Eighteen Armenian Hmayil prayer scrolls are also reproduced for an installation in the middle of the gallery space. The scrolls are created from the digitized collections of the Library of Congress and other institutions, and they are modified with “interventions” from Oshagan that reflect on travel, family, culture, and politics.

“Visitors will notice that some of the gallery walls are painted red. This color choice was intentional, and it is actually the color of the dye made by the Cochineal insect that is indigenous to the Ararat plain and Arax River Valley,” explains Sohigian. “Vordan Karmir is a familiar color in Armenian rugs, and Oshagan selected it with the curator to accent the exhibit. It adds another layer of meaning to the issues that Ara brings to this show around Armenian identity and culture.”

The mural and manuscript portraits on fabric, which are part of Oshagan’s Shushi series, are some of the largest works that have ever been exhibited in the AMofA galleries. “Ara’s innovative style allowed us to bring these larger-than-life images into the space so this installation offers many surprises from color to scale to medium, and a mix of time and place that will resonate with visitors,” adds Sohigian.

“Oshagan manages to seamlessly weave together different geographies, historical sources, and a range of mediums to consider the impact of dislocation on our personal and collective history,” explains the Curator Ryann Casey. “Bringing the past to the present, Oshagan asks us to reflect on our connections to place and community while highlighting the importance of memory on our shared future.”

Ara Oshagan is a multi-disciplinary artist, curator, and cultural worker whose practice explores collective and personal histories of dispossession, legacies of violence, and identity. He works in photography, film, collage, installation, book art, public art, and monument-making. Oshagan has published three books of photographs, is currently an artist-in-residence at 18th Street Art Center in Santa Monica, and a curator at ReflectSpace Gallery in Glendale.

Curator Ryann Casey is a New Jersey based artist and educator. She is an adjunct Professor of Photography, Art History and Critical Theory at Stockton University, and her current photographic and curatorial projects focus on themes of loss, trauma, and memory.

This exhibition has been generously sponsored by Michele M. Kolligian in memory of Haig Der Manuelian for his dedication and foresight in sharing Armenia’s rich history and culture with the world, including an impressive collection of Armenian Manuscripts that he gifted to the Armenian Museum.

“Disrupted, Borders” will be exhibited in the AMofA’s third floor contemporary galleries through October 29, 2023.

Armenian Museum of America Leaves a Lasting Impact on Waltham High School Students

Dr. Khatchig Mouradian during a discussion with students.

By Pauline Getzoyan

The Armenian Weekly

Last Thursday, April 13, was a big day at the Armenian Museum of America as 110 ninth-graders from Waltham High School visited its galleries during the day, followed by more than 50 students from Montreal’s Sourp Hagop Armenian School (L’École Arménienne Sourp Hagop) later that evening. These school visits, which have increased since the end of the pandemic, are part of the museum’s genocide education programming, which is sponsored by a generous grant from the Cummings Foundation. Since 2022, more than 30 groups from elementary and high schools, as well as universities, have visited the museum.

The Weekly joined Waltham High School students studying modern world history, as they made their way through the museum’s galleries, expertly guided by director of building operations Berj Chekijian and collections curator Gary Lind-Sinanian. Overseeing the school visit was executive director Jason Sohigian, who worked closely with history teacher Rachel Unger to create a meaningful experience for the students. “This was an incredible experience for the students, to learn more about the Genocide as it ties to their curriculum but also about Armenian and history and culture in the centuries before the Genocide,” Sohigian told the Weekly. “We appreciate the effort made by Rachel [Unger] and Derek [Vandegrift] to coordinate such a large visit with us.”

Armenian Museum of America Honors Joan Agajanian Quinn for Women’s History Month

Art collector Joan Agajanian Quinn (center) with Armenian Museum President Michele Kolligian (right) and fellow Museum Trustee Sandra Missakian (Photograph by Kenneth Martin)

To celebrate International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month, the Armenian Museum of America is honoring Joan Agajanian Quinn, an art collector and a strong advocate on women’s issues. She is a Trustee and member of the Executive Committee of the Armenian Museum of America.

Part of her collection was loaned to the Museum for the exhibitions “On the Edge: Los Angeles Art 1970s – 1990s from the Joan and Jack Quinn Family Collection” and “Discovering Takouhi: Portraits of Joan Agajanian Quinn.” These shows have received rave reviews from WGBH Arts Editor Jared Bowen, Boston Public Radio, WBUR, Art New England Magazine, and many others, and they are extended through March 31, 2023.

“We are grateful to Joan, and to her daughters Amanda and Jennifer, for loaning their art collection to the Museum. This show has been transformative in terms of bringing new people into the Museum and elevating our Adele and Haig Der Manuelian Galleries to a new level for future exhibitions,” states Museum President Michele Kolligian.

“The exhibitions include more than 20 women artists such as Lita Albuquerque, Lynda Benglis, Vija Celmins, and Claire Falkenstein. ‘Discovering Takouhi’ includes Dahlia Elsayed, Silvina Der Meguerditchian, Chris Hartunian, and many more. Boston Globe reviewer Mark Feeney wrote that the Quinns were unconcerned with conventions, which is one reason they were likelier to collect work by women and artists of color than many of their peers,” adds Kolligian. “It is notable that the shows were expertly curated by three women, Rachel McCullah Wainwright, and Natalie Varbedian and Gina Grigorian.”

Joan is the co-host of “Beverly Hills View” and has been the producer and host of the “Joan Quinn Profiles” for more than 35 years. The Los Angeles native was West Coast Editor of Andy Warhol’s “Interview,” Society Editor of the “Los Angeles Herald Examiner,” and the founding West Coast Editor of “Condé Nast Traveler.”

She is an Executive Committee member of the Armenian International Women’s Association and serves on the board of the Women’s Support Center in Yerevan. Joan has been appointed to an array of city and state commissions, and in 2017 she received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor.

“On the Edge” and “Discovering Takouhi” are presented by the JHM Foundation. The Armenian Museum of America’s galleries are open Thursday through Sunday from 12:00 pm to 6:00 pm, and it is located at 65 Main Street, Watertown, MA.

Joan Agajanian Quinn Donates Paintings by Ruben Amirian to AMA Collection

Two canvases from Ruben Amirian’s 38-part series, “Homage to Mesrop Mashtots,” which was donated to the Armenian Museum of America by Joan Agajanian Quinn in 2023.

Joan Agajanian Quinn recently announced that she is donating a series of paintings by Ruben Amirian to the collection of the Armenian Museum of America. “Homage to Mesrop Mashtots” contains 38 separate abstract paintings representing the letters of the Armenian alphabet. Each canvas is 12.5 by 16.5 inches. Assembled altogether, the series extends to an impressive 12 feet wide by four feet high. One of Ruben’s paintings is included in the “Discovering Takouhi” exhibition of Armenian artists, which will be on display through Spring 2023.

“Our family is honored and excited about the exhibitions at the Museum. As a Trustee, I am proud of the way the Museum offers Armenian art that spans from ancient times to medieval, and all the way to the modern era,” explains Quinn. “My hope was to attract more interest in the galleries and to offer something new to show from our family’s collection, which has not been widely seen or exhibited. I am also happy to expand the Museum’s collection of modern artists with this gift.”

Ruben Amirian left Iran in 1962 for the US to continue his education, earning a bachelor’s degree in Architecture and a master’s degree in City and Regional Planning from Howard University. Ruben pursued his love of art by taking courses in drawing and art history. The National Gallery of Art, Corcoran Gallery, and other galleries became a second home where he was introduced to works by Richard Diebenkorn, Philip Guston, Edward Hopper, and others. He maintains a studio practice in Glendale.

Joan Agajanian Quinn and Artist Ruben Amirian in 2022.

The Most Popular Videos from "Treasures from Our Collection" Series

This month we are celebrating the two-year anniversary of the “Treasures from Our Collection” video series. In 2020, Museum President Michele Kolligian had an idea to produce videos with our Collections Curator about objects in our collection that are not currently on display.

This allows us to share our artifacts virtually with people all over the world,and gives Gary Lind-Sinanian the chance to tell the stories of many of the objects that were donated to the Museum during his tenure.  
 
More than 100 of these videos have already been shared via email and social media, and they are archived on our YouTube Channel under “playlists.” One of the most popular videos is about a giant cooking pot and the other is about village dioramas in our collection.  
 
“Treasures from Our Collection is supported by a leadership donation from Ms. Kolligian, who is the President of the Board of Trustees, for which we are grateful,” says Executive Director Jason Sohigian. “We have feedback on the series from all over the world including scholars, people studying village histories, textiles. As Gary describes it, these objects tell the story of the culture and the social history of the Armenians.”