The Armenian Embassy in Sweden is hosting the “Armenian Highland” presentation
STOCKHOLM, Sweden – The Armenian Embassy in Stockholm hosted a reception for Pasadena’s author-photographers Matthew Karanian and Robert Kurkjian earlier this month. The event was sponsored by Ambassador Alexander Arzoumanian and was conducted under the auspices of the Embassy of the Republic of Armenia.
The reception was preceded by an illustrated presentation by Karanian and Kurkjian, who spoke about efforts to preserve the Armenian cultural heritage in western Armenia. They also talked about the prevailing conditions in Artsakh.
Kurkjian and Karanian illustrated their presentation with photographs from across the Armenian Highlands – images they created over more than 20 years of field research.
The region of the Armenian Highlands includes the countries of today’s Republic of Armenia, Artsakh and the large region known today as Western Armenia. Karanian’s fieldwork in western Armenia was part of his effort through the Historic Armenia Project to document the Armenian cultural objects that survived the genocide. Kurkjian’s work was meanwhile focused on Artsakh.
Together, Karanian and Kurkjian have published seven books on Armenian history and culture. Their latest title The Armenian Highlands shows a part of ancient Armenia that has rarely been seen since 1915 and is the first historical guide to the region.
“We can not preserve our history if we do not know our history,” Karanian said. “That’s what this project is about.”
Kurkjian and Karanian also presented the Armenian Highlands in Copenhagen, Denmark on May 8 at an event hosted by the Honorary Consul of the Republic of Armenia. The event was attended by members of Copenhagen’s active and prosperous Armenian community.