Culture

Regional Post talked to the Moscow based IT specialist Anton Merkurov, who is the great-grandson of prominent Soviet sculptor-monumentalist Sergey Merkurov. For several years Anton has been engaged in the promotion of The Merkurov House Museum located in Gyumri. Anton is sure that Gyumri can fully compete with Yerevan as the country’s touristic center.

All you have to know about Armenia’s second largest city’s history — from the first settlements founded 2800 years ago to the disastrous earthquake of 1988.

When the freight train entered the tunnel, the driver did not notice a short person of eastern appearance standing near the railroad. Nothing special happened. There were neither magical fireworks, nor solar eclipses, but the train did not come out of an empty tunnel. The person of eastern appearance cunningly smiled and left. This is one of numerous mystic stories from George Ivanovich Gurdjieff`s life. He was a mystic and philosopher. He was skilled in everything; a talented hustler and an energetic merchant. He began to work as a cleaner of decks on ships. Three decades later he became the owner of a castle in France and established the Institute for the Harmonious Development of Man. The most prominent personalities of the era attended this place for true knowledge.

This fall we had few occasions to be truly happy. On one hand Republic of Armenia celebrated the 25th anniversary of Independence. On the other hand, Yerevan Brandy Company’s Cognac Ararat Nairi has won the Grand Prix and gold medal at the XX Moscow International Professional Contest of Wines and Spirits. But what made us even happier as avid lovers of legendary Armenian cognac, is how Yerevan Brandy Company celebrated the 25th anniversary of Armenia’s Independence – in his unique, delicious way. On this occasion the Company has released a limited edition brandy – ARARAT 25.

This September, the Armenian film industry and general cultural life has been experiencing real chaos. There were tough discussions over which movie deserved the right to represent Armenia and to be nominated for Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Thirty-two years old film director Sarik Andreasyan`s ‘The Earthquake’ was selected with three other movies (but was later disqualified by the Academy for too many Russian professionals involved in the production). This is one of few films that touches on the topic of the 1988 devastating Armenian earthquake, so the spotlight on it was intense from the very beginning. Film critic Diana Martirosyan has already watched ‘The Earthquake’ and tells us why the movie does not deserve so much attention.

Dilijan Arts Observatory project launched on August 22, 2016. For some three weeks over 30 artists representing different spheres worked to create modern art. The outcome of the Dilijan Arts Observatory will first be exposed in the National Gallery of Contemporary Art in Berlin, in November 2017 and in Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris, in summer 2018. On September 10 and 11 former Impuls factory based in Dilijan hosted the exposition of Dilijan Arts Observatory. It is a part of the Dilijan Art Initiative project and is supported by RVVZ and IDeA foundations. International curator and anthropologist Clementine Deliss curated the Dilijan Arts Observatory. She told RP about her ambitious project in Dilijan.

Summarizing results of the first quarter century of Armenia's independence in various spheres.

Summarizing results of the first quarter century of Armenia's independence in various spheres.