KulturDialog Armenien

KulturDialog Armenien is a non-governmental and non-profit foundation with cultural orientation. It was founded and registered by the art historian Sona Harutyunyan in Armenia’s capital Yerevan, on June 15th, 2012.

The objective of Foundation KulturDialog Armenien is to support cultural exchange and to establish a dialogue between Armenian and non-Armenian artists. Our aim is to strengthen this exchange and make it accessible to a national and international audience. Our highest priority is to make Armenian artists and their art better known – in Armenia but also abroad. Ideally, this is the beginning of a constant and constructive dialogue all participants will benefit from and which will open new perspectives for all aspects of the art business.

Primarily, KulturDialog Armenien supports artists and their creative work by providing the necessary funds. Additionally, we establish the contact between the artists and institutions important in the field of art such as museums, galleries, festivals, artistic exchange programs but also to collectors and the international art market. We always try to find diverse possibilities for our artists to exhibit their work and to participate in national and international projects. If required, KulturDialog Armenien develops and elaborates specific exhibition concepts and projects for our artists and cooperating partners and we even initiate artistic exchange and residence programs. To achieve those aims we act as an artist’s management for our artists, in Armenia but also abroad.

We make use of all existing structures of the art market and we explicitly address national and international cultural institutions and organizations exhibiting contemporary art in order to win new partners and to find new options for our artists to be recognized. Thanks to our experience in cooperating with long-term but also with new partners we are able to bring our artists to the center of public attention and, on the other hand, to give the audience an insight into the field of contemporary (Armenian) art.

With this in mind, we voluntarily accept to represent also non-Armenian contemporary artists: We help them to access the Armenian art scene, to be present on the Armenian art market and to exhibit their work in Armenia, to cooperate with Armenian artists and last but not least, to win a new audience. Finally, also the Armenian audience gets into contact with non-Armenian contemporary art and will be encouraged to engage in an intercultural dialogue which will help to promote contemporary art and its artists.

It is of utmost importance to us to accompany artists in their personal and artistic development and to provide them with long lasting support. Consequently, we prefer to represent our artists on a long-term basis. We are at the disposal of our artists as a reliable and attentive partner for every step of their development and their career. Our experience enables us to offer individualized and competent advice, to find solutions adapted to the respective demands of the artists and to show them new options and challenges.

A second aspect of our work addresses art historians, curators and art managers, because they are the essential link between the artists, their audience, museums, cultural institutions, collectors and the art market. Thanks to our relations in the field of contemporary art, we offer new challenges to this group of professionals and provide them with a platform for new and interesting projects. This way, we would like to complement their education and training by giving them the opportunity to get into contact with contemporary artists, to develop and to elaborate concepts for exhibitions and interdisciplinary projects on an academic level and to have them published. Those projects are always executed as to be adapted to the artist, his/her work and of cause the audience. Artists as well as art historians, curators and art managers can thus, regardless of their initial specialization, gain experience in a national and international context and contribute to an intercultural dialogue, which is so important for contemporary art.

Our partners are national and international, private and governmental institutions and organizations. The work of the foundation is financed by donations of individuals, firms and institutions in Armenia and Europe, which are interested in supporting effectively contemporary art and its artists on a long-term basis.

Among our partners in Yerevan are:

  • National Gallery of the Republic of Armenia
  • National Collection of Historic Manuscripts MATENADARAN
  • Museum of Modern Art]
    • Museum of Russian Art
    • Armenian Centre for Contemporary and Experimental Art (ACCEA)
  • Hay Art Gallery and Cultural Centre
  • Gafesjyan Art Centre
  • Artists’ Association of Armenia
  • Museum Minas Avetisyan
  • House of Art and Artists’ Studios ‘Kotchar 13′
  • Nerkay Art Service

Projects of KulturDialog Armenien  

2012

15 June 2012          Art Historian Sona Harutyunyan (M.A.) establishes KulturDialog Armenien in Yerevan, Armenia. KulturDialog Armenien is a foundation with the objective to initiate the cultural dialogue between artists and the art world – in Armenia and abroad.

July 2012                Solo exhibition “Creative-ACTION“ of the artist Tigran Sahakyan at the Museum of New Art, Yerevan, Armenia. (Exhibition catalogue, documentary film)

October 2012        Organization and curatorial management of the Armenian Pavilion at the 5th International Art Biennale in Beijing, China. (In cooperation with the Cultural Ministry of Armenia)

October 2012         Exhibition of the project “Simulacrum“ of the artist  Narek Avetisyan at the Royal Palace in Warsaw, Poland. (Exhibition catalogue in Polish)

December 2012      Exhibition “Kamo Nigaryan. Protoformes“ of the complete works of the artist  Kamo Nigaryan at the Museum of Modern Art in Yerevan, Armenia. (Oeuvre–catalogue, TV-documentary)

2013

January 2013         Exhibition of the project ”Simulacrum“ of the artist Narek Avetisyan at the exhibition space ‘InteriorDasein’ in Berlin, Germany. (Interview and discussion with the artist, bilingual exhibition catalogue German/English, documentary film)

June 2013               Participation of the artists Tigran Sahakyan, Arman Vahanyan, Tigran Kirakosyan and Ashot Grigoryan and the director Diana Kardumyan in the initiative “Cultural Mission Armenia-Estonia“ in Tallinn, Estonia. (Exhibition of the artworks, followed by a public discussion at the Artists’ Association of Estonia; presentation of an Armenian film at the Baltic Film and Media Academy and at the International Academy for Film, Television and Media of Northern Europe).

August 2013           Piano recital of pianist and composer Hayk Melikyan at the annual international festival “Under the Arcades“ in Warsaw, Poland, dedicated to the 110th anniversary of the Armenian composer Aram Khachaturian (1903-1978).

September 2013     Retrospective exhibition of the oeuvre of the artist Vazgen Bazhbeuk-Melikyan at the Hay Art Cultural Center in Yerevan, Armenia. (Exhibition catalogue, documentary film)

October 2013         Participation of KulturDialog Armenien in the international symposium “City. Culture. Religion“ in Bonn, Germany; discourse of the president of KulturDialog Armenien on Armenian Art). The artist Tigran Sahakyan participates at the workshop of the international artists’ festival “Crossing Borders“, organized by the Cultural Office of the city of Bonn and the Künstlerforum Bonn, Germany.

November 2013     Exhibition of the project “Simulacum“ of the artist Narek Avetisyan at the National Gallery of Poland in Szczecin. (Brochure in Polish)

November 2013     Presentation of 17 Armenian films as a special program (“New Voices of Armenian Cinema”) at the 17th International Film Festival “Black Nights “ in Tallinn, Estonia. (Project directors: Diana Kardumyan and Vigen Galstyan ; in cooperation with the Armenian Foundation ”Lusadaran“)

2014

February 2014       Exhibition „Minas and Narek Avetisyan. Modernism and Avant-garde in Armenia“ of the artists Minas Avetisyan and Narek Avetisyan at the Fine Arts Museum Moritzburg in Halle, Saale (County Museum of Saxony-Anhalt), Germany. (Exhibition curator: Marie-Christine Fritsch (M.A.); trilingual exhibition catalogue in German, Armenian, English, documentary film on Minas Avetisyan in German; in cooperation with the Ministry of Culture of the County of Saxony-Anhalt, with the MESROP Centre Halle, with the County’s Centre for Political Education, and the Armenian Parish of the city of Halle; in collaboration with the Cultural Ministry of Armenia, the Museum of Russian Art, the National Gallery of Armenia and the Museums of Etchmiadzin).

March-April 2014       The artists Tigran Sahakyan, Arman Vahanyan and Tigran Kirakosyan are “artists in residence” in Tallinn, Estonia, invited by the Association of Graphic Artists of Estonia. Exhibition “Striding Imprints: Tigran Sahakyan, Arman Vahanyan and Tigran Kirakosyan in Tallinn“ of their graphic works in the National Library of Estonia in Tallinn.

April 2014              Interdisciplinary project (text, language, art, music) “Intercultural and interdisciplinary improvisation of a text by Armin T. Wegner and Sören Kierkegaard“ in Herford, Lübeck and Hamburg, Germany, on the occasion the commemoration of the Armenian Genocide in 1917. A total of 14 Armenian artists and musicians from Yerevan and Gyumri participate in the project, as well as two German actors. (In collaboration with the German architect Guido Hülsmann and the parish of St. Marien Stiftberg, Herford, Germany)

May 2014               Finissage of the exhibition “Minas and Narek Avetisyan. Modernism and Avant-garde in Armenia“ of the artists Minas Avetisyan and Narek Avetisyan at the Fine Arts Museum Moritzburg in Halle, Saale (County Museum of Saxony-Anhalt), Germany. (Public discussion with Narek Avetisyan, TV documentary; Presentation of the documentary films “The Land of Holy Rites“ (2004) and “From Ararat to Zion“ (2009) followed by a public discussion with the director of the two films Edgar Baghdasaryan)

July 2014                Exhibition of the project “Simulacrum“ of the artist Narek Avetisyan at Galeria Gardzienice in Lublin, Poland in the context of “East of Culture – Different Sounds Art’n Music Festival“. Presentation of modern Armenian films at “New Voices in Armenian Cinema“.

Project “22 Years Later“ – mutual performance of the Armenian artist Narek Avetisyan and the Polish artist Waldemar Tatarczuk. (Video documentation)

September 2014     Direction and organization of the international conference “Christianity. Nation. Civilization“ in Yerevan, Armenia. Accompanied the international art workshop “Time and Space“, in the context of the international Art Festival “Crossing Borders“. Exhibition of the art works of the workshop at the Armenian Centre of Contemporary and Experimental Art (ACCEA). (In collaboration with the museums of Etchmiadzin)

October 2014         Exhibition “Striding Imprints: Tigran Sahakyan, Arman Vahanyan and Tigran Kirakosyan in Tallinn“ at the Armenian UN Office in Yerevan. (Bilingual exhibition catalogue Armenian/English)

2015

March-May 2015   Start of the artistic exchange program in Halle (Saale), Germany, in collaboration with the Fine Arts Museum Moritzburg in Halle, Saale (County Museum of Saxony-Anhalt), Germany. The first Armenian artist of the program, Tigran Kirakosyan, spends 10 weeks in Halle (Saale) and works at the Academy of Fine Arts of the city of Halle ‘Burg Giebichenstein’. In cooperation the city of Halle and the Cultural Office of the city of Halle, Germany.

May 2015               Piano recital “Waiting for the Dawn“ of the Armenian pianist and composer Hayk Melikyan at the Händelhaus, Halle (Saale), Germany, in the context of the Armenian Cultural Days “In Motion” organized by the County of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, dedicated to the commemoration of the centenary of the Armenian Genocide.

May-July 2015       Exhibition “Voices of the Past“: 19 monotypes of the artist Tigran Kirakosyan at the Fine Arts Museum Moritzburg in Halle, Saale (County Museum of Saxony-Anhalt), Germany, dedicated to the commemoration of the centenary of the Armenian Genocide. (Bilingual brochure German/English)

June 2015               Invitation of the artist Tigran Sahakyan as “artist in residence” by the Association Culturelle Arménienne Bordeaux Aquitaine (ACABA), l’Association du Lien Interculturel, Familial et Social (ALIFS), and by the Réseaux Aquitain sur l’Histoire de la Mémoire de l’Immigration in Bordeaux, France.

Pictorial performance of the artist Tigran Sahakyan at the festival “Bons Baisers d’Arménie“ at the Musée d’Aquitaine, Bordeaux, France.

June 2015               Exhibition  The Surprised Eye“ – 126 graphic works by 34 contemporary representatives of the Estonian Association of Graphic Artists as well as the most excellent examples of typography of the year 2014 at the Association of Armenian Graphic Artists in Yerevan. (Trilingual catalogue Armenian/ Estonian/English in collaboration with the Estonian Association of Graphic Artists). It is the first exhibition of Estonian graphic works in this dimension since the independence of Armenia. Partner exhibition of the exhibition of Armenian graphic art in Tallinn, Estonia, in April 2014.

August 2015           Participation of the artist Tigran Sahakyan in the 65th Festival of Young Artists and the art workshop “Crossing Borders“ at Bayreuth, Germany. Discourse of Foundation KulturDialog Armenien on Armenian Art at the turn of the 21st century by Vice-president of KulturDialog Armenien Marie-Christine Fritsch) at the symposium “Religion – Culture – Society” at the Symposium “Crossing Borders” in the context of the 65th Festival of Young Artists at Bayreuth, Germany.

September 2015     Official visit of the representatives of the Christoph Merian Foundation, Basel, Switzerland, of the Cultural Office, the Museum of New Art and the University of Freiburg in Breisgau, Germany, on the occasion of the beginning of the artistic exchange program between Basel, Fribourg, Mulhouse and Foundation KulturDialog Armenien. Presentation of the Armenian art scene and its artists and studios in Yerevan.

Exhibition “Views of a Country. Photography from East-Germany 1945-1995”. Photography from the collection of the Fine Arts Museum Moritzburg in Halle, Saale (County Museum of Saxony-Anhalt), Germany. Partner exhibition according to the cooperation agreement between the Federal Republic of Germany and the Republic of Armenia signed on the occasion of the exhibition “Minas and Narek Avetisyan. Modernism and Avant-garde in Armenia“ at the Fine Arts Museum Moritzburg in Halle, Saale (County Museum of Saxony-Anhalt), Germany, in February 2014.

October 2015         Galerie Sobering, Paris, France, choses to integrate six works of the artists Vram Hakobyan, Tigran Kirakosyan, Sergey Narazyan und Arman Vahanyan in its project “100 Years – 100 Artists”. On the occasion of the centenary of the Armenian Genocide 100 works of art are shown at the YIA Contemporary Art Show in Paris and then sold at a large scale auction organized by Galerie Sobering at the Hôtel de l’Industrie Paris, France, in favor of the association ARAM.

November 2015     Exhibition “All Together Now” of contemporary Armenian, German and Icelandic art at the Künstlerforum Bonn, Germany, in cooperation with ArtDialog e.V. Bonn. Participating Armenian artists: Sergey Narazyan, Vahan Rumelyan, Ovsanna Shekoyan and Arman Vahanyan. (Bilingual exhibition catalogue German/English)