VISION
Armenian photographers — individuals, families, generations and networks — more than with regard to other forms of media, have played a major role in the development and dissemination of the craft in the Middle East, North Africa, and the Caucasus, while leaving their mark globally. Their photographic practices and archives have shaped Armenian communities both in their historic lands and diasporic peregrinations. In this regard, without ignoring the formative links between photography and nation-states, the inherent entanglements between modern diasporas and photography present themselves as a remarkable and insufficiently explored nexus. But Armenian photographic practices have also been serving as prisms through which diverse polities, cultures and social groups have engaged in multifaceted commemorative, cultural and artistic activities.
We thus find it highly generative to bring together researchers, archivists, collectors, curators and artists to systematically reflect on, artistically engage with and present to the public the transregionally and multiculturally rich, historically entangled photographic practices that have shaped and been shaped by Armenians. Through this multifaceted material our aim is to create a space for critical and creative reflection on the inherent links between photography and other media (such as literature and film), disciplines (such as anthropology and art history), and cultural spheres (such as journalism, advertisement, celebrity and popular culture). We further intend to encourage critical dialogue with archival and curatorial practices, digitization and AI included. Additionally, we plan to give space to artists. This way we will strive to build bridges between past photographic practices and ongoing and emergent visual cultural possibilities.
The association believes in the social and connective value of photography in enabling individuals and communities to come together along various socially relevant, impactful projects especially in times of crisis like ours when skepticism towards democratic and human rights paradigms is widespread and we do not know how far-reaching changes induced by AI are. In the face of these challenging uncertainties, we recognize the social and public knowledge that photographs encode and wish to make the most of their potential to reinforce local and underrepresented communities, allowing them to document and narrate their experience of loss and migrations, letting them to claim visuality through icons and other forms of self-determination. Turning to Armenian photographic practices is thus a form of political service capable of lifting up memories and experiences that are part of the social fabric but are not as visible as they should be.
MISSION
To achieve its goals, the association will organize conferences, workshops and lectures, curate exhibitions, create collaborative networks, conceive and carry out transdisciplinary research and digitization projects informed by the latest critical theoretical, artistic and technological developments, as well as give platform to and help train the next generation of scholars, curators and artists. The association will share these activities with the public in person and online, through its website and social media outlets, as well as through print and online publications of various kinds. This way, the association will generate its own multifaceted and dynamic archival space, thus ensuring richly engaging links with Armenian photographic practices for the future.