Epress.am News from Armenia
Armenian artists who oppose the official celebrations to mark the 20th anniversary of the country’s independence will be staging an alternative event in Yerevan’s Liberty Square (near the Opera) at 1 pm on Sept. 25. The activities, said curator Lilit Sargsyan, will fundamentally differ from the current festivities, both in terms of incentives and means of implementation, as well as in content and essence.
Participating in the event will be key figures in Armenia’s art scene: Arman Grigoryan, the late David Kareyan (performed by Diana Hakobyan as Kareyan passed away on Jan. 3, 2011), Yevgine Martirosyan, Levon Fljyan, Karen Barseghyan, Harutyun Zulumyan (in cooperation with Narine Manaseryan), Narine Zolyan, Sahak Poghosyan and Samvel Saghatelyan.
“The tradition of alternative open-air exhibits is the format that on one hand, points to the public [or social] significance of artistic acts, while on the other hand, identifies the problems of place and being of contemporary art. The difficulties in the institutional emergence of modern art shows its ‘suspended’ status in an independent country,” reads a statement by organizers.
The artists say they are trying to dismantle and reformulate the current pro-government codes of the truly undeniable value of “independence.” They call into question the political, economic, social, and cultural value system, and the relativity of ascertainable realities entrenched in the country for 20 years.