Watertown, MA, October 25, 2018
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Stephanie Garafolo sgarafolo@armenianmuseum.org, 617-926-2562 Ext 4
The Armenian Museum of America Presents
Armenia: art, culture, eternity
A new permanent gallery
Opening Reception Thursday, November 15
6–7:30 pm: Gallery viewing and talk. Speakers include Michele Kolligian, President of the Board of Trustees; Jennifer Liston Munson, Executive Director; and Virginia Durruty, Project Architect.
Live music in the gallery.
7:30–9:00 pm: Special Armenian-inspired reception in the Adele & Haig Der Manuelian Galleries, 3rd floor.
The Armenian Museum of America is pleased to share its vision for the future. Founded in 1971, the Museum serves as the largest repository of Armenian artifacts in the diaspora, as well as the largest ethnic museum in Massachusetts. As the Museum builds towards the future, it strives to create a stronger, more connected community through shared exploration of Armenian art and history, both for Armenians and those who are new to Armenian culture.
The Museum’s new gallery Armenia: art, culture, eternity provides an overview of Armenian culture from antiquity to present-day Armenian experience here in the United States. Over fifty objects are on display, illustrating Armenia’s origins in the Asian continent, the invention of a unique Indo-European language and alphabet, the early adoption of Christianity, Armenian medieval illuminated manuscripts, interconnected trade routes, and the tragedy of the Genocide.
Armenia: art, culture, eternity is the culmination of twelve months of intense research and design and represents a new level of scholarship and interpretation at the Museum. The project was made possible by the support of the Board of Trustees and was spearheaded by Executive Director Jennifer Liston Munson and architect Virginia Durruty, who worked side-by-side with Michele Kolligian, President of the Board of Trustees, on the inspired design.
The gallery represents an incredible achievement and is the start of a holistic consideration of the entire Museum, which will examine everything from the building’s distinctive Brutalist architecture—including how the hard space is a meaningful metaphor for Armenia’s difficult history—to the Museum’s role in telling the modern Armenian-American cultural narrative.
As a major moment in the process of awakening the building and developing a vibrant cultural space, the Museum is proud to welcome the public to its new gallery and invites the community to share in its future.
About the Armenian Museum of America
The Armenian Museum of America houses and preserves objects of art and culture collected from Armenian families and donors from around the world. The Museum holds its collection in trust for future generations as objects of witness and survival to serve as a record of Armenian creativity, ingenuity, and wisdom for those who are familiar with Armenian history and culture, as well as for those to whom these objects, manuscripts, and ephemera are a new experience.
Museum Website: www.armenianmuseum.org
Museum Hours: Thursday–Sunday 12:00 pm–6:00 pm
Armenian Museum of America, 65 Main St., Watertown, MA 02472
Parking: Watertown Municipal lots behind the Museum.
Public Transportation: Bus 59 from Needham, 70 from Waltham Commuter
Rail/Cambridge Central Square, 70a from Waltham Commuter Rail/Cambridge Central Square, 71 from Harvard Square.
Museum Hours: Thursday–Sunday 12–6 pm, Wednesday by appointment.
