Culture

Raffi Niziblian repatriated to Armenia from Canada in early 2000’s and soon became one of the pioneers of the local creative industries. In 2006 he founded Deem Communications, a full service agency that is now one of the leaders of the sector. Regional Post talked to Raffi about different aspects of the creative industries in Armenia, including marketing campaigning, films and visual arts.

Swiss Artist Felice Varini's amazing installation in Yerevan railway station.

Armenian-Iranian film "Yeva" didn't appear in Oscar foreign language category short list, but it's still a good film.

It is difficult to overestimate the role that repatriates have played and continue to play in different spheres of life in Armenia. The repatriation, which started from the very beginning of Armenia’s independence (the first Republic of Armenia) and continued in distinct stages from the 1920’s and 1930’s into the 1940’s and then during the 1960’s, is in some sense still ongoing, providing a source of hope to change the quality of life here in Armenia. This is by no means a comprehensive list of individuals born and raised in the diaspora who chose to settle with their families in Armenia (in and after the 1940’s), enriching Armenia’s culture and academic life. The list is of course a contentious one and therefore, admittedly, some personalities who played a very important role in their respective areas are not in the list due to the constraints of space.

The repatriation of the Armenian Diaspora was a unique event in the History of Armenia, an exceptional one in world history and can probably only be compared to the emigration of Jews from the Diaspora to Israel in scale. Repatriation changed both the lives of Armenians from the Diaspora and the face of Yerevan: the capital city of Soviet Armenia received cultural influences from Armenians who came from all over the world and they brought with them various traditions, knowledge and habits. But the process was not easy, especially for the ones who came to Armenia.

Using diaspora’s potential is one of the key tools for Armenia to become a strong state with a successful society. That’s integration of repatriates is so important. To illustrate this truth Regional Post presents 11 repatriates who recently moved to Armenia and changed its cultural and business surface.

A center of arts and a showroom which will open soon on the crossroad of Abovyan Street and the Northern Avenue, at Abovyan 2/5. The center will bring fresh ideas to Armenian culture and art as well as will create new standards in the service industry. The showroom exhibits the brand Ardēan. We spoke to Vasken Brudian, the director of the brand, and tried to find out the origins of this creative salon as well as discussing the future of Armenia-Diaspora relations.