Berge Arabian

Photographer Berge Arabian narrates the stories behind his shots in his Agos column, 'If Lenses Could Talk.' This week, he features an Armenian language course in Diyarbakır, along with its instructor and students.

Photographer Berge Arabian narrates the stories behind his shots in his Agos column, 'If lenses could talk.' His latest piece centers on the story of some refugees.

In these forsaken days of the Corona Virus, Art in its physical sense of exhibitions, events, screenings, performances, publications and so forth, has become almost a rarity. Yes, a great number of artists have been active by channeling their creative side through the internet but the essential live interaction between the artist and the audience is almost none. Every one is in the same situation of isolation and quarantine. We at Agos felt that there is a common ground here regarding the artistic well-being and day-to-day creative life of artists in general during this long and absurd period staged by a deadly virus. So, we asked Armenian artists living in many different countries how isolation has effected their creative process, focus and inspiration regarding their art…and how do they envision the future of their art and creativity once the quarantine days come to an end? We asked them to write back for our readers to know their thoughts and reflections. Berge Arabian

German Avagyan is a photographer who participated in joint Armenia-Turkey exhibitions before it was a trend and has always used his camera for documenting the difficult issues that became a wound for the society. In this regard, interviewing him is precious, not only in terms of photography but also in terms of understanding how photography can really change people's lives. We introduce this artist concerned with many issues like poverty, disability and war to our readers.

Romanian photojournalist Anreea Tanase’s “Armenians in Romania” project was presented by interviews, book launches and photo exhibitions in Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca, Yerevan, Gyumri. We talked to Tanase about her journey to the history of Armenians living in her country and her work, in which the traces of genocide from past to present is documented.

Michelle Andonion have been photographing the children at risk around the world for providing a better future for them by raising awareness. Now, in her book “This Picture I Gift”, which was published on September 2015, she travels to the past of her family, Armenia and Anatolia by following the footsteps of her grandmother Sara.

Berge Arabian was on Mytlini and spent a day with the refugees there. He wrote and photographed their hopes, dreams and fears.

Every single day, some terrible news about the immigrants from Syria comes to the fore. So, in these days, we would like to share the visual diary of the forced migration that the father and grandparents of our photography editor Berge Arabian went through. In 1930, they hit the road from Diyarbakir to Aleppo. The exhibition that was opened in Diyarbakir on May 23 will visit Istanbul and Erivan, and the book that is based on this exhibition is being prepared now. Armenians are one of the communities that history challenged with migrations and they had always been migrating in the Middle East which is stirred by civil wars. This story, which is like a reversed migration, is rather an expression of longing. It is like a gloomy “uzun hava” to the lost home, Diyarbakir.

The Lusadaran Armenian Photography Foundation, founded by Vigen Galstyan and Art Ghazaryan to preserve and advance the Armenian photographic arts tradition, has already taken giant steps in the research, preservation and promotion of the work of Armenian photographers across the world. We spoke with co-founder Vigen Galstyan to find out more about their work.