Armenian Museum of Fresno Presents “House Culture Documentary Screening & Poetry Night” Featuring Producer Christopher Atamian

FRESNO, Calif. — The Armenian Museum of Fresno will hold an evening of film, poetry, and cultural exploration on Thursday, June 18, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., featuring writer, filmmaker, and producer Christopher Atamian and three documentaries from CivilNet’s acclaimed series, House Culture.

The evening will showcase three English-language documentaries highlighting the lives and legacies of three extraordinary Armenian cultural figures: celebrated poet Yeghishe Charents, artist and ethnographer Lusik Aguletsi, and visionary filmmaker Sergei Parajanov. Following the screenings, guests will have an opportunity to meet Atamian and discuss the inspiration behind the series and the importance of preserving Armenia’s cultural heritage.

Produced for CivilNet, House Culture takes viewers inside Armenia’s historic house museums—or doon tankarans—offering an intimate look at the personal spaces where some of the nation’s most influential artists, writers, and visionaries lived and worked. Through storytelling, visual exploration, and thoughtful commentary, the series reveals how these homes continue to preserve memory, identity, and artistic legacy.

“In Armenia, culture is not simply celebrated—it is lived,” said Atamian. “It gives me great pleasure to present the lives of renowned Armenian writers and artists to audiences who may never have heard of them before, or who know only fragments of their work.”

The films being screened include:

Yeghishe Charents — Armenia’s literary rebel and one of the country’s most beloved poets, whose passionate and groundbreaking work transformed modern Armenian literature.

Lusik Aguletsi — A self-taught anthropologist, artist, and cultural preservationist displaced from her ancestral village of Agulis in Nakhichevan. Through her collection of more than 1,000 artifacts, she dedicated her life to preserving Armenian folk traditions and cultural memory.

Sergei Parajanov — The visionary filmmaker often called the “Fellini of the Caucasus,” whose innovative cinematic style continues to inspire artists and filmmakers around the world.

The House Culture series explores how architecture, objects, and lived spaces connect past and present, creating a unique portrait of Armenia’s rich cultural landscape. Blending documentary filmmaking with historical reflection, the films celebrate the creators who helped shape the soul of a nation whose artistic traditions stretch back millennia.

The House Culture creative team includes Christopher Atamian (writer, producer, and narrator), Hasmik Hovhannisyan (producer), Maria Yeghiazarian (producer), Ani Balayan (editor and camera), Tigran Margaryan (camera), Gevorg Haroyan (camera), and Salpi Ghazarian (supervising producer).

House Culture Documentary Screening and Poetry Night with Christopher Atamian
Thursday, June 18, 2026
5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.

Armenian Museum of Fresno
All films are presented in English.

Admission is free and open to the public.

This event has been made possible, in part, by funding from the City of Fresno
Measure P, Expanded Access to Arts and Culture.