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Art and Politics Mingle in Armenian Cultural Festival

22-05-2026
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“Though it may sound paradoxical, underlying every tradition is the capacity for renewal. It is the basis for keeping tradition alive and comes about through creative dialogue and contact with other cultures in the rest of the world.” This is the concept that provided the impetus for the Festivals of Armenian Culture (Armenische Kulturtage) that take place annually in three major centers of Armenian life in Germany. Cologne was the first, in 2005, to host a festival, followed by Stuttgart in 2011, the 20th anniversary of independence and Berlin in 2015. And the intention is to spread such activities to other cities.

Whether organized by Armenian communities including the church, as in Cologne, the seat of the diocese in Germany, or by professionals, like the Association of European and Armenian Experts (AEAE e.V.) in Berlin, or by the Baden-Württemberg Armenian Community e.V., in Stuttgart, the festivals aim at presenting Armenian culture, from the Republic and the diaspora, in an interactive, dynamic dialogue with Germany as a form of international cooperation and understanding.

Art and Artists Show the Way

The mission of the AEAE, which organized the festival, is to bring together people from Germany, Europe, the Republic of Armenia, Artsakh and the Diaspora, for intercultural understanding. And the event this year stands under the motto, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” Spiritual nourishment is needed, to provide hope, love, and spiritual wealth; salvation from war, destruction, and evils deeds can come only from a harmony between mind and soul, which is provided by divine protection. The festival, held at the House of Culture in Karlshorst, in the borough of Lichtenberg, therefore was dedicated to spiritual themes, in the art exhibition, in a film showing which featured “Gate to Heaven” by Jivan Avetisyan, and in a concert of spiritual music performed by pupils of the Hekimian Music School of Yerevan. The vernissage was interspersed by music performed by Danilo Mičić und Milutin Marjanović, who sang Serbian spiritual songs A-cappella.

Mikayel Minasyan, President of the AEAE, welcomed visitors to the vernissage with brief remarks. He addressed the issue head on: In view of the chaos pervading the world today, which is characterized by destruction, loss, and war, we ask ourselves, where will the madness end? It is artists who offer us guidance, he said, in that they provide a link to contemporary reality through their impressions, as depicted in their art.

The exhibition, entitled, “Archi Galentz – Narine Zolyan – Prophecies,” presents works relating to current and recent episodes of the emotional life of Armenia and its people. It is a life of dramatic upheavals, from the collapse of the Soviet Union to the process of creating the Republic; two Artsakh wars, expulsions, all unfolding within the process of loss of identity and the search for a new national self-consciousness. The artists raise profound questions: where can one find moorings, a source of confidence? Who will be their partners in a dialogue about the future?

 

The exhibition also marks an inflection point in a decades-long dialogue between the two artists, both from intellectual families. Zolyan, born in 1957 in Yerevan, and Galentz, born in 1971 in Moscow, are both active in Germany as curators of shows and project spaces. Galentz, who studied at the State Art School in Yerevan (1976-1981) and University of the Arts in Berlin (1992-2000), came to Berlin in 1992 as a guest student and has been working at his atelier and exhibition room, InteriorDAsein since 2008.

Narine Zolyan, who began painting at the age of nine and was fascinated with Vincent van Gogh, studied at the Yerevan State Art Institute (1976-1981) and the Surikov Art School in Moscow (1981-1985). She moved to Germany in 2012, and heads KunstAsyl (Art Sanctuary), a project in cultural integration in Quedlinburg, Saxon-Anhalt. The two artists met in 2002 in Moscow at the Forum of Artistic Initiatives and that same year, held their first joint exhibition, entitled “Children’s Fears.” Several others have followed since, in Berlin and Chemnitz.

“Without Ararat,” Archi Galentz

 

Galentz commented on “Prophecies” as the title of the exhibition. Referencing the large number of talented artists in Germany and Europe, he singled out Zolyan’s unique feature: “Her art expresses an evocative passion about the problems of our era.” He stressed that “this year is a year of decisions for Armenia: will one become a soldier, a volunteer? What will become of our own children?” And it is decisive politically; “we must elect a new head of state. To regain our bearings, we have to reflect on our views and reevaluate them.”

For his own part, Galentz chose from among his most emotional works to display. Some are well known, others, from his early works, have never been exhibited before. He has also experimented with AI-generated works that distort or rearrange reality — a church without a cross, Yerevan with Aragats, not Ararat. As he said in discussion with the Prague-based Armenian publication, ORER, he again addresses the theme of war and seeks to view it as a lesson. His contribution is “to change something in my country. ”

A Note of Optimism

The Berlin festival was sponsored by the Department of Culture and Education of the district of Lichtenberg, its mayor Martin Schaefer, and Prof. Dr. Martin Pätzold, former Bundestag (Parliament) member and member of the Berlin House of Representatives since 2021. Addressing the gathering, Pätzold lauded the Armenian Cultural Festival as an occasion for people from different backgrounds to discuss culture and debate ideas, a place where visitors, including children, can engage with artists and “everyone can learn something.” The exhibit, he said, would generate interest in Armenian themes. “I studied the Bible,” he went on, “and it is written there that the darkest hour comes before the dawn. Therefore, we dare not lose confidence that in Armenia this dawn awaits us.” Recalling his experiences in the country, he said, “As a German with Armenian roots, I was always impressed by the warmheartedness and willingness to help on the part of Armenians everywhere.”

In her own address at the vernissage, Zolyan lamented the endless wars throughout the world which are destroying our spiritual balance. As an artist, she deals with the fate of Artsakh and Armenia. “We find ourselves in a constant battle. With the works I am presenting here, I would like to draw the viewer’s attention to something important: that we must remember our history, learn about it, and draw lessons from it.” She envisioned a future in which “children live happy lives, where children do not lose their parents, and parents do not lose their children.” In discussion with ORER, she recalled how important it was in her family to talk about Armenia. She inherited this political awareness through her parents from her grandfather Gevorg Melik Karagyozyan, who in 1918 came to Berlin as a member of the Delegation of the Armenian National Council. They had come “hoping to defuse the chaos in Transcaucasia and to discuss their problems.” But in meetings with members of the Imperial Diet, “the Germans only talked nonsense and did nothing – that was a very special experience for me.” Her mother “dedicated her entire life to Artsakh and achieved the impossible…. Now I am fighting in the same struggle.”

Paintings by Archi Galentz

 

The Gate to Heaven

Artsakh is a theme that runs through the art exhibition, discussions among the visitors, and in a film viewing on May 9 — not coincidentally, the day of the liberation of Shushi in Artsakh. “Gate to Heaven” It is an international drama that takes place during the Artsakh wars. Leading roles are played by Richard Sammel, Tatiana Spivakova, Sos Janibekyan, Leo Pobedonoscev and Naira Zakaryan.

Director Jivan Avetisyan, born in Gyumri, grew up in Artsakh and lives in Yerevan. In 2014 he co-founded the Fisheye Art Cultural Foundation and later, in 2021, he founded “LifeTree Pictures LLC.” The film tells the story of a German journalist Robert Sternvall, age 50, who returns to Artsakh in 2016 to report on the newly erupted conflict. In the course of his research, he meets a young opera singer, Sophia Marti, who is 15 years his junior. Sophia is the daughter of a press photographer who went missing—and who Robert, after the fall of the village Talish in 1992, had left behind in prison. The two fall in love, and the truth of Robert’s vile deed comes out. Robert confesses to his career-oriented behavior, his silence about Edgar’s death, his exploitation of Edgar’s photos, and begs for forgiveness.

In the course of a long discussion with viewers, Avetisyan drew the lesson of his film. Silence, as in the case of Edgar’s death, is a crime. “Nowadays so many people are silent about Artsakh. Precisely this criminal silence was the concept that appealed to me and that I developed in the film.”

The Armenian Cultural Festival in Berlin broke the silence about Artsakh and presented the complex reality of Armenia, through the lens of art and dialogue, to a grateful public. One visitor, cited in a press report, described the exhibition as “overwhelming – not because it was loud, but because it strikes you. Because the pain lying in the pictures, cannot be kept at a distance. You have to get close, you have to look, you have to participate.”

 

To more- hier: https://mirrorspectator.com/2026/05/21/art-and-politics-mingle-in-armenian-cultural-festival/ 

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