ARARAT-ESKIJIAN MUSEUM AND AGRP TO HOST EXHIBITION AND LECTURE ON THE VISUAL CULTURE OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE COMMEMORATION
The Ararat-Eskijian Museum (AEM) and the Armenian Genocide Research Program (AGRP) of the Promise Armenian Institute (PAI) at UCLA are pleased to announce a collaborative exhibition and lecture taking place on Sunday, April 12, 2026, at 4:00 PM (PT) at the AEM Sheen Chapel.
The program, titled, “’We Will Raise Monuments in Our Hearts’: The Making of Armenian Genocide Commemoration,” and organized through the joint efforts of AGRP Director Taner Akçam and AEM Director Marguerite Mangassarian Goschin, will explore the visual culture of remembrance surrounding the Armenian Genocide.
Armenians have long sustained a deeply rooted tradition of remembering collective loss, cultivating a distinct and evolving culture of memory in response to persecution and violence. Yet this commemorative culture—expressed through monuments, posters, ceremonies, and artistic production—has not been sufficiently documented in its full breadth. Beginning with the Hamidian period, this exhibition highlights the dimensions of Armenian commemorative practice and traces how memory has been visually articulated across generations and across the diaspora.
The exhibition will feature a recently acquired collection of commemorative posters from around the world, representing various years and perspectives of remembrance. These rare materials offer valuable insight into how Armenian communities have memorialized the Armenian Genocide across time and geography.
At the same time, we recognize that no single exhibition can fully capture a commemorative tradition that has unfolded across many decades and across the global Armenian diaspora. This project should therefore be understood as a first step in a much larger endeavor—one that we hope to expand with the support, insights, and contributions of the public and the scholarly community.
Dr. Gevorg Vardanyan, a Postdoctoral Fellow at UCLA, will deliver a lecture on the history of Armenian Genocide commemoration. Drawing on original research, the talk reexamines the emergence and evolution of commemorative practices from the Hamidian Massacres to the fiftieth anniversary of the genocide and offers a new interpretation of the development of Armenian commemorative culture.
The exhibition will be open to the public at the Ararat Home Deukmejian Community Center (15105 Mission Hills Rd., Mission Hills, CA 91345) on the following dates and times:
· April 14–19: Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday, 11:00 AM – 4:00 PM
· April 21–25: Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, 11:00 AM – 4:00 PM
For additional information, please contact AEM Museum Director Marguerite Mangassarian Goschin at eskijian@ararat-eskijian-
Please visit the AEM and AGRP websites for more information on program activities.
