In honor of the 15th anniversary of Armenia’s Constitutional Court, an exhibition entitled “Constitution and Art” is now underway at the Court’s headquarters in Yerevan.
“When I organized the contemporary art exhibition ‘Optimizm’ last year, in honor of the 90th anniversary of Yerevan State Medical University, Constitutional Court Chairman Gagik Harutyunyan also offered me the opportunity to organize another exhibition in their building,” Curator Vicki Shoghak Hovanessian said.
The idea of organizing such a cultural event in the court building was unexpected by many. Yet it was successfully brought to life by our Armenian-American partner, who has a rich experience of organizing solo and group art exhibitions in the U.S., as well as in other countries. In 1995, Vicki opened the Hovanessian Gallery to give Armenian artists a space to show their work to collectors and museums abroad. “My goal is to help Armenian artists stay in Armenia to create their work,” Vicki said.
Now, as part of the exhibition, the works of various contemporary Armenian artists greet visitors at the entrance of the Constitutional Court building. The second floor is filled with the works of the artist Hakob Hakobyan and the third floor displays the graphic works of famous French-Armenian artist Garzou, or Garnik Zulumian, who was awarded the French Legion of Honor in 1956. All of these works are from Vicki’s personal collection.
“I tried to represent Armenian art’s yesterday, today and tomorrow, side by side in one exposition,” she said.
While they reside in the U.S., Vicki and her husband Raffi are well known in Armenia. They are also longtime supporters of FAR, who have helped to bolster such programs as the Octet Music School. Everyone at the Fund for Armenian Relief sincerely congratulates the Hovanessians on the exhibition’s opening. We wish them the best in their future endeavors.