Corporate Social Responsibility has been a part of LaGalleria Boutique’s initiatives for quite some time. No surprise “For the benefit of all” is one of the company’s mottos. Regional Post talked with Zarah Badalyan, Director of Communications at LaGalleria, about the importance of CSR.
Interview : Margarit Mirzoyan
LaGalleria has been serving Armenian customers for a while. At what point did you make the CSR an integral part of the brand and why do you consider important to support the emerging Armenian designers and projects?
Indeed, LaGalleria has been operating for almost 11 years in high end retail market in Armenia. I can proudly say that since the opening, our company has shown a commitment to support various initiatives, such as assisting artists and institutions in different disciplines of visual arts.
Corporate Social Responsibility is the intersection of business with the society. And we’ve realized early on that these two sides – business and public – are not only equal, but identical. The project “LaGalleria and Ramblkoshe” is a bold example of a successful dialogue between Graphics Designers/Artists Arakelyan, Khoren Matevosyan, Areg Movsisyan and LaGalleria that took place in 2017. Another success story is the project “In cooperation with Armenian artists”, in which all of the profits went to digitalizing paintings of National Gallery of RA.
Zarah Badalyan, Director of Communications at LaGalleria
What is LGL3 Social Responsibility platform and how does it function?
LGLR3 is a platform, inspired by young people which is designed to cultivate new cultural aesthetics in local and international scopes.
What about “Ashxatanq N1” project? Could you share more about its core vision and overall implementation process.
“Ashxatanq N1” Clothing and Accessories Collection was inspired by the Soviet Armenian working class. LaGalleria, TUMO Studios and Fashion Designer Victor Nouman partnered together to create this collection. Profits from the Collection have been directed toward scaling up the TUMO Studios, a not-for-profit educational program. I’d like to use this opportunity to say special thanks to Tumo Studios young designers Mariam Emeksizian, Lily Mehrabian, Muradyan Varditer, Elen Azatian, Argishti Antonyan, Armine Sahakyan, Christine Hambardzumyan, Lusine Mardanyan, Sonya Avagian for their collaboration and creative support.
What is your outlook from the Social Responsibility perspective? Do you have any upcoming projects and collaborations in mind?
We have a number of CSR ideas and projects at LGLR3. There is one in the pipeline I’d like to share. In collaboration with the Armenian Fashion and Design Chamber Armenian young designers will create t-shirts and hoodies in the frames of “Fashion Armenia Yerevan 2019”. They will visit Artsakh and get their impressions by creating Artsakh-inspired prints and sketches.
We must implement our best to provide as many platforms for self-expression as possible for our young people. At the same time, we must do our best for them to better know their homeland. Armenia, Artsakh and the Diaspora have an incredible potential. However, on the way to converting that potential into a business initiative, business environment should demonstrate its support too. We are ready to do that, and we take that responsibility seriously.
