From daring contemporary art and rediscovered masters to global collaborations and philosophical meditations on home and identity, this issue of Artinerary traces Armenia’s restless cultural pulse. A snapshot of an art scene oscillating between imitation and invention, reverence and rebellion, beauty and critique.
In this essay, Karén Karslyan traces Donald Trump’s muddled rhetoric on Armenia and Azerbaijan, exploring how language, translation and spectacle mask authoritarian impulses. From Woolf’s Clarissa to Trump’s Nobel ambitions, words become warning signs of looming deeds.
This edition of Artinerary, curated by Vigen Galstyan, navigates Yerevan’s vibrant arts scene, from the rich legacies of Iranian-Armenian photographers and Saroyan’s visual experiments to contemporary solo and group shows, architectural dialogues, and eco-conscious cinema.
In this poetic manifesto, art historian and curator, Nairi Khatchadourian, envisions the Araks River not as a border but as a bridge, home to the world’s first Armenia-Iran binational art institution, where culture, ecology and collaboration flow together to heal histories and imagine shared futures.
A biting reflection on the surreal showdown between Church and State in Armenia, Vigen Galstyan exposes the theatrical extremes of macho posturing—from priest-led coup plots to phallic rhetoric—revealing a deeper societal crisis and the need for cathartic cultural release, all while curating an eclectic itinerary of cultural events across the country.
From Berlin’s well-funded, immersive art scene to Yerevan’s under-resourced yet vibrant efforts, this instalment of “Artinerary” not only presents a calendar of cultural events coming up, but imagines what could emerge if Armenia’s artistic potential were fully supported and politically prioritized.
Two Armenian films were featured at this year’s Berlinale, marking a rare milestone. Sona Karapoghosyan explores their significance, the shifting politics of international film festivals, and how Armenian cinema navigates recognition, identity and the quiet constraints of global cultural power.
The exhibition “Victory Over the Victory” critically reexamines war and its legacies, bringing together global artists to challenge war narratives and explore memory, trauma and resistance. Curators Sona Stepanyan and Natasha Dahnberg create a space for dialogue across geographies and generations.
As AI reshapes creativity and replaces human labor, much contemporary art feels stagnant—recycled, safe and system-bound. A revival, if it comes, will rise from urgent, crisis-driven contexts like Armenia, where meaning still demands to be made. In this edition of ARTINERARY, Vigen Galstyan spotlights exhibitions where artists confront technology, identity, and post-war trauma in works pulsing with transformative promise.
The "Women, Peace, Art" exhibition in Armenia showcased eight female artists addressing peace amid war's haunting memories. While ambitious, the exhibition struggled with essentialist portrayals of women, often reinforcing stereotypes instead of challenging them.
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.
