Et Cetera

The first Armenian-owned photo studios in Constantinople and Tbilisi at the end of the 1850s not only immortalized people’s lives, they were an effective shortcut to modernity and a powerful symbol of cultural emancipation.

While contemporary dance is still seen as a very niche and esoteric “corner” of Armenia’s performing arts landscape, it is starting to flourish with many young dancers from Armenia and abroad involved in making this change.

Most exhibitions organized in Armenia in the post-war period refer either to the war or to related topics. Two recently-opened shows depart from this context, referring to a more broadly “warlike” situation—the issue of waste.

Despite all the attempts to forget or eradicate it, the ancient Armenian village of Bagaran that lies on the very edge of the Turkish-Armenian border, is a metaphorical manifestation of this region's rich and tragic history.

Examining the dissonance between the importance ascribed to national values like cultural heritage and the less-than enviable conditions surrounding the profession of Armenia’s “heritage doctors”.

Philip Marsden’s “The Crossing Place: A Journey Among the Armenians” is atmospheric, gripping and revelatory. It delves into the seemingly exclusive club of a nation at the meeting point of cultures, writes Naneh Hovhannisyan.

When cinematographer Rudolf Vatinyan passed away from COVID-related complications in 2020, people eulogized about an exacting professional who had filmed a number of iconic films. No one remembered, however, that Vatinyan had a parallel creative passion.

Kond is the oldest surviving vernacular neighborhood in Yerevan. Its significance lies not in the current cultural, social and political interpretations but rather in this district’s capacity to store and transfer information across generations.

Mher Mkrtchyan has made a marked and oppositional political film, which, however, is too superficial and collapses under the incredible transparency of its agenda, writes film critic Sona Karapoghosyan.

There is a Facebook group of Meghri natives that is more active than the official pages of many institutions. It is, however, also isolated, living a separate life, disconnected from the rest of the digital world just like the actual city.