With the Golden Apricot Film Festival behind us, many in Yerevan might have a case of a cultural overdose. But the capital's art pulse shows no sign of slowing down and the next two weeks are absolutely packed with events to either calm or rattle your jaded senses.
The cultural high point of the year is definitely peaking in the next couple of weeks with the opening of the 21st Golden Apricot International Film Festival with its usual roster of must-see films and... uhum... controversial guests. Finding the gems, or maybe the guilty pleasures in this whirlwind of activities can be a challenge, so hopefully this guide can be of some help.
Yerevan's social calendar is ramping up with a torrent of events that will immerse you in all sorts of art if you, well... let it. To help you navigate the vibrant art scene, we're putting together a short bi-weekly digest of the best that the capital has on offer for the art-going public and visitors.
Why has the Armenian Government initiated a controversial takeover bid of the Writers' and Artists' Union properties and what does it mean for the wider cultural sector? Vigen Galstyan explains.
Through his art, Hagop Hagopian was changing the lens on the idea of Armenia as a mythical topos, an atavistic construct of the Armenian paradise. Instead he presented a land of extreme harshness and desolation in which life can happen only as a product of tremendous effort and unconditional belief.
Self-pity and victimhood have served as comfortable escape routes from pervasive issues, however, in the current post-war reality there are clear signs that there is a desire to address the fault lines, to understand and rethink the reasons behind past failures, to stop and reflect.
The decay of cinema as an intellectual and creative medium is difficult to deny and poster art, that once acted as a visual portal into the film’s world and less as a means of direct advertisement, has been replaced by nondescript and formulaic film advertising.
In the context of ongoing regional strife in the Caucasus, the understanding of culture as an instrument of political agency and negotiation becomes especially vital as a mode of resistance and reinforcement for all the parties involved. Vigen Galstyan explains.
For a nation that has experienced multiple instances of genocidal destruction, the protection of historical patrimony should have been an obsessive preoccupation and yet we have the tragic examples of the museums in Shushi and Hadrut.
Only in nurturing the growth of critical thinking can we strengthen the positions of our cultural identity and its continuing relevance in the increasingly chaotic geopolitical and technological tides of the 21st century.
EVN Report’s mission is to empower Armenia, inspire the diaspora and inform the world through sound, credible and fact-based reporting and commentary. Our goal is to increase public trust in the media. EVN Report is the media arm of EVN News Foundation registered in the Republic of Armenia in 2017.
