Gohar Topchyan

As high-rise buildings continue to pop up across different parts of Yerevan—often than not replacing structures deemed to be of historical and architectural significance, we cannot help but wonder to what extent Tamanian’s master plan of the city, which was only partly implemented, is different from today’s metropolis. 

Grigor Khanjian spent the last chapter of his life in a vast open-air space, painting a mural that would soon be hailed as an iconic rendition of Armenian history. What urged him to undertake such a huge project?

Every year thousands of people step into the Komitas Museum-Institute in Armenia to learn about the creative world of Komitas Vardapet, his extraordinary gift as a composer, his noble mission as a collector of Armenian folk songs, his captivating spiritual music, and his inspiring, yet tragic life. On a visit to the museum, we talked with a couple of experts about the challenges of showcasing an icon who is revered as the founder of the Armenian national school of music.

Priceless manuscripts have survived a long and precarious journey to bear witness to Armenia’s rich cultural legacy. Now digitalization and new exhibition halls at the Matenadaran ensure that the “birth certificates” of our nation defy time and space.

Ivan Aivazovsky, the legendary Russian-Armenian painter of seascapes who lived an eventful life filled with travels, honors, exciting encounters, and long-lasting friendships, enjoyed world-wide recognition during his lifetime and led a prolific creative life, never forgetting his Armenian roots. 

One of the smallest, yet most valuable house-museums in Yerevan is dedicated to Martiros Sarian, the founder of the national school of modern Armenian painting. A visit to the museum in the center of the city reveals the rich legacy of one of the greatest painters of the 20th century, whose paintings are characterized by simplicity and ubiquitous light. 
 
 

The birth of Jesus has been a recurring theme for Armenian artists since early times. Depictions of the nativity in medieval Armenian art, especially in miniature painting, are full of religious symbolism. Based on the nativity narratives in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, they combine traditional approaches to iconography with diverse artistic mediums and common cultural elements.

More than 40 days ago, on this day, amid the chaos of COVID-19 and the existential battles on various fronts in Artsakh, one of the titanic figures of Armenian choral music, Maestro Harutyun Topikyan, the artistic director and conductor of the Yerevan Chamber Choir succumbed to the vicious virus, months after candidly exposing his unwavering love for Komitas Vardapet in a candid interview with h-pem contributor Gohar Topchyan.