“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?
