Opening Reception of "Ara Oshagan: Disrupted, Borders” Exhibition

Thank you to all who attended the opening reception of "Ara Oshagan: Disrupted, Borders." It was a full house with over 150 art and photography lovers in attendance. “A lot of my work connects to things in the Museum collection (i.e., illuminated manuscripts and hmayil prayer scrolls). To have ancient manuscripts and reflect on them in a contemporary space is very special,” Oshagan told the audience. 

This exhibition is sponsored by a generous donation from Museum President Michele M. Kolligian in memory of Museum Founder 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 Museum.

"Disrupted, Borders," curated by Ryann Casey, is now on view in the Adele and Haig Der Manuelian Galleries through October 29, 2023.

Event photographs by Daniel Ayriyan.

Rare Armenian Manuscripts Restored through Bank of America Art Conservation Project Grant

(Left to right): Kerry Miles, Art and Heritage Project Manager at Bank of America; Maryann Ekberg, Managing Director, Bank of America Private Bank; Jason Sohigian, Executive Director, The Armenian Museum of America; and Michele M. Kolligian, President, The Armenian Museum of America.

As part of its Art Conservation Project, Bank of America provided a grant to the Armenian Museum of America of Watertown, Mass., to restore 21 illuminated manuscripts from its collection, one of which dates back to the 13th century, the museum announced today. Bank of America selected the Armenian Museum of America as one of the 23 cultural institutions that have been named recipients of the 2023 Bank of America Art Conservation Project, a program that provides grants to nonprofit cultural institutions to conserve important works of art.

This year's recipients represent a diverse range of artistic styles, media, and cultural traditions across China, Colombia, France, Lebanon, Mexico, Singapore, South Africa, Sweden, the U.K. and the U.S.

The Armenian Museum of America has the largest collection of Armenian artifacts in the United States. Among them is an extremely rare collection of 21 handwritten and hand-illuminated manuscripts, of which approximately 10 are on display in the museum's galleries at any given time. One example is a small hymnal, or sharaknots in Armenian, which contains hymns to be chanted and performed on feast days. Attributed to the prolific artist Karapet of Berkri, the illumination depicts the Presentation of Christ in the Temple.

Since 2010, Bank of America's Art Conservation Project has supported the preservation of paintings, sculptures, and archeological and architectural pieces of critical importance to cultural heritage and the history of art. More than 237 projects across 40 countries managed by nonprofit cultural institutions received funding to conserve historically or culturally significant works of art that are in danger of deterioration.

"We are incredibly grateful to Bank of America for providing us with this leadership grant so our manuscripts will be preserved so that they can be viewed by the public and studied in perpetuity without risk of further damage. This partnership will allow visitors to view the art and culture of the past, and to see it in the context of the present in our galleries," said Jason Sohigian, executive director of the Armenian Museum.

"By the medieval period, Armenians had a rich literary society. Since then, many manuscripts and illuminations have been looted or destroyed, a process that intensified during the Armenian Genocide of 1915. Preservation has taken on a renewed importance, as Armenia's cultural heritage remains at risk," he added.

"The Armenian Museum of America is an indispensable resource for the preservation of the rich heritage of the Armenian people. The conservation of these artifacts enriches the community and allows people of all backgrounds to appreciate how the inspirational story of the Armenian people fits into the history of America," said Miceal Chamberlain, President, Bank of America Massachusetts.

The conservation of these rare books will be completed by experts from the Mesrop Mashtots Institute of Ancient Manuscripts in Yerevan, which is the largest and most significant Armenian library and archive in the world. The manuscripts require restoration and preservation due to worn edges, light damage, and dust.

introduction video

The Art Conservation Project is one demonstration of BofA's commitment to promoting cultural sustainability and making the arts more accessible and inclusive in communities.

BOA Art Conservation Project Grant (Episode I)

This video highlights Bank of America's Art Conservation Project, which recently provided a grant to the Armenian Museum of America in Watertown, MA to restore 21 illuminated manuscripts from our collection. We are doing this work in collaboration with experts from the Մատենադարան - Matenadaran.

The work began on site last month with Gayane Eliazyan, head of the Matenadaran's Restoration Department, senior restorer Susanna Barseghyan, and researcher/chief depositor David Ghazaryan.

BOA Art Conservation Project Grant (Episode II)

Our latest video offers another exclusive inside look at the Armenian Museum of America’s restoration lab in Watertown, Massachusetts, where leading experts carefully restore illuminated manuscripts by applying techniques that clean them and restore them to their original state.

BOA Art Conservation Project Grant (Episode III)

This third progress video on the project demonstrates the ongoing work in our book restoration lab on-site at the Museum in Watertown (Boston) where leading experts from Armenia carefully clean and repair these priceless books.

Watertown cable network news coverage

Video coverage by Dan Hogan from Watertown Cable Network. Watch as a small hymnal, or sharaknots, which contains hymns is delicately restored.

Bank of America’s Art Conservation Project has supported the preservation of paintings, sculptures, and archeological and architectural pieces of critical importance to cultural heritage and the history of art. More than 237 projects across 40 countries managed by nonprofit cultural institutions received funding to conserve historically or culturally significant works of art that are in danger of deterioration.

Ties that Bind: Armenian Master Revives Diaspora Collection // Hairenik Media

Our collection of illuminated manuscripts and prayer scrolls received a monumental restoration, with support from Bank of America's Art Conservation Project. Susanna Barseghyan, a master restorer from the Matenadaran, spent the summer in residence at the Armenian Museum, painstakingly cleaning and repairing the ancient parchment and leather bindings. Hairenik TV went "behind the scenes" for a preview of this priceless collection in the heart of Watertown.

photo galleries

book restoration I

Hmayils (or prayer scrolls) restoration

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

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.

.