Traffic, pollution, tourists, crazy weather, and too many events. Yerevan seems to have it all this July, but not all of it is bad. 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.
EXHIBITIONS
Kitchen Lab is one of the newer art spaces in Yerevan. Located just behind the Rossia Mall, in old converted factory complex, this independent platform has been quietly featuring some established and emerging contemporary artists. Their latest show (closing on the 7th, so hurry!) is made of site-specific installations by three talented artists, Armen Antonyan, Edgar Grigoryan and Edgar Amroyan, who ruminate on the concept of ‘Dolce Vita’ (Sweet Life) by entering into an ironic dialogue with classical European art.
Exhibition: “Dolce Vita”
Where: Kitchen Lab
Movses Khorenatsi 28, Yerevan
Dates: Open until July 7, Tuesday to Friday 2p.m.-8 p.m., Saturday & Sunday 2 p.m.-7p.m.
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A bigger group of contemporary artists will have their work shown at the Yerevan Museum of Modern Art at the annual Yerevan Art Expo. Organised by the US-based, diasporan non-profit Arts Treasures, this exhibition presents a wide cross-section of works in the many different forms and “genres” of abstract art, which is still surprisingly alive and kicking despite having been kicked-off the pedestal by Pop-Art and Conceptualism way back in the 1960s-70s. Though salonesque showcases of any type of art aren’t usually very inspiring affairs, this should be a great opportunity to get a broad understanding of what is happening in the field of abstract art internationally.
Exhibition: “Yerevan Art Expo 2024”
Where: Modern Art Museum of Yerevan
7 Mashtots ave., Yerevan
Dates: Starting July 4
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There’s also good quality abstract art to be perused in Haiduk Smbatyan’s solo show at Dalan Gallery. It could be said that Smbatyan follows in the long footsteps of Kandinsky’s “spiritualist” approaches to abstraction with his expressively painted and boldly composed shapes, lines and planes. From a distance, his canvases look like strange, metaphysical maps and they’re quite beautiful pathways for your mind to wander around.
Exhibition: “Formulation”, Haiduk Smbatyan
Where: Dalan Art Gallery
12 Abovyan str., Yerevan
Dates: July 2-11
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The most interesting thing, however, is looking at what the country’s young blood has to offer. The Yerevan Institute of Contemporary Art had recently organised collaborative workshops between local curators and a few dozen emerging artists, whose research-based works are now presented in a series of group exhibitions. Fragmental Art is the latest of these and it’s going to take place at the beautiful Aslamazyan Sisters Gallery in Gyumri. Seasoned curator Sargis Hovhannisyan has brought together five very young practitioners who all work in different media, and all of whom would be unfamiliar to the art-loving public. Which means there’ll be plenty of new talent to discover on a daytrip to Gyumri – the perfect way remedy to Yerevan’s soul-crushing urban gigantomania.
Exhibition: “Fragmental Art”
Where: The Aslamazyan Sisters Gallery
232 Abovyan Str., Gyumri
Dates: July 6-16
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Another emerging name on the scene is the multi-media artist Sirin Anoush, who is holding her second solo show this year. In RAW she is presenting a series of surreal cyanotype prints that attempt to relay the anxiety about the feminine body and (presumably) the difficulty of expressing the angsty disquiet about life in the modern world. Though not as polished technically or conceptually focused, Sirin’s experiments with photography and printmaking sometimes produce visually striking results and she’s certainly someone to keep an eye on.
Exhibition: “RAW”, Siranush Mkhitaryan
Where: A1 Art Space
1/1 Abovyan str., Yerevan
Dates: July 5, 8 p.m.
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The opulently decorative paintings of Armen Khojoyan have no trouble in “expressing” their sentiments. Khojoyan’s highly ornamental style mixes everything from Art Nouveau to Persian miniature art to produce “bejewelled” and saccharine images of eroticized bodies in fantastical pseudo-historical landscapes, which are both strange and naively charming. It’s an artist’s imaginary paradise, outside time and place, which doesn’t aspire to do much more than be a comforting visual escape on the wall.
Exhibition: “Armen Kojoyan”
Where: Henrik Igityan National Centre for Aesthetics
13 Abovyan str., Yerevan
Dates: July 6-11
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But if solid classic art is more your thing, then the exhibition dedicated to the two Great Masters of Etching – Edgar Chahine and Tigran Polat – is a surefire bet. Born in Vienna and Alexandria respectively, this venerable due became wildly successful graphic artists and illustrators after moving to Paris at the end of the 19th century. Chahine was renowned for his sharp, brilliantly executed realistic depictions of the Parisian lower and upper classes, which visually decried the social injustice in the capitalist world. As his pupil, Polat was less concerned with class struggle, focusing instead on the frivolous side of humanity and the hedonistic ideals of the mythological past. This new show assembled from the National Gallery’s collection doesn’t bring any fresh critical insights into their work, but any opportunity to see Chahine’s and Polat’s stunning etchings should be a cause of celebration.
Exhibition: “Great Masters of Etching”, Edgar Chahine, Tigran Polat
Where: Gevorg Grigoryan (Giotto) Studio-Museum
45a Mashtots str., Yerevan
Dates: July 28, 6:30 p.m.
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Finally, there is a really exciting show for all the design freaks like me. The Yerevan History Museum has organised a retrospective exhibition dedicated to the Yerevan Faience Factory – the largest industrial ceramics manufacturer in Armenia founded in 1946 and closed in the early 1990s. Almost every household in the country had one of their Ballerina, Anahit and Sasuntsi Davit decorative figurines, or the large chunky plates made for eating khash. Though very uneven in their aesthetic and technical aspects, the Faience Factory products are major part of modern Armenian design history and this show will put a much overdue spotlight on it.
Exhibition: “Yerevan Faience Factory Retrospective”
Where: Yerevan History Museum
1/1 Argishti str., Yerevan
Dates: July 4-September 4
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TALKS & LECTURES
As far as exclusive events go, it’d be hard to beat the July 9 Rendezvous with Kevin Spacey held in the framework of the Golden Apricot International Film Festival. The festival’s decision to invite the acclaimed British-American actor to Yerevan as a guest of honor, following the career-crashing allegations of sexual abuse by over 50 male accusers has proven to be hugely controversial. But the ensuing public debate can only be a good thing for a patriarchal society that has notoriously shied away from exposing the nefarious sexual “customs” in its own dusty closet. As a legend of the silver screen, Spacey is also the first – now openly gay – star of his calibre at GAIFF, so this talk will certainly prove to be one of the milestones in the Festival’s history, for better or worse.
Talk: “Rendez-vous with Kevin Spacey“
Where: American University of Armenia
40 Marshal Baghramyan Ave., Yerevan
Dates: July 9, 4 p.m.
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For a less conflict-ridden encounter, you can head down to Matenadaran and take part in an international workshop called Armenian Literary Horizons: The Readers and Textual Trends in the Early Modern Period. Spanning the late 17th and 18th centuries, the said period is one of the most fascinating, yet the least studied in Armenian cultural and literary history, so this symposium promises to be full of new and fascinating research presented by noted scholars from Armenia and beyond. The workshop will take place on July 26th from 10:00-18:00.
Workshop: “Armenian Literary Horizons: The Readers and Textual Trends in the Early Modern Period”
Where: Matenadaran, The Mesrop Mashtots Institute of Ancient Manuscripts
53 Mesrop Mashtots Ave., Yerevan
Dates: July 26, 10 p.m.-6 p.m.
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MOVIES
Though the Golden Apricot festival will essentially eclipse all other film-related events in July, there is at least one other retrospective screening film lovers should not miss seeing on the big screen.
Yerevan Cine-Club is presenting Francois Truffaut’s sublime 1962 masterwork Jules & Jim, which became one of the defining films of the 1960s generation. Starring the beguiling Jeanne Moreau, this transcendent story of friendship, youthful defiance and unconditional love is one of those rare movies that only gets better with age. And if you haven’t seen it, then be prepared to have your soul pierced to its core by its unforgettable ending.
Screening: “Jules & Jim”
Where: National Library of Armenia
72 Teryan St., Yerevan
Dates: July 16, 7 p.m.
*In French with Armenian & English subtitles. Free Admission.
