Bala Bimbambum in the Land of Bugistan
Growing up in Yerevan, Babken Sahakyan felt constrained, unable to explore their gender and artistic identities. When they moved to Berlin, they started to explore drag and other art forms. Eventually they were inspired by their drag character, Balabimbambum to create a world with no limits where they could explore all elements of Armenianness, queerness, art, drag, imagination, and expression.
Aram Krikorian on Activism, Intersectionality, and Their Book Ճանապարը (The Road)
Aram Krikorian’s intersectionalities run deep. Aram is a nonbinary queer artivist based in Berkeley, California. They are Armenian, Palestinian, French Canadian and American. Using their unique lens and background, Aram creates artwork that connects directly with public activism. Though Aram never imagined they could be a public artist, over the past few years, they have […]
28 December 2021 | Alexa Gris
“From Myself to Myself by Myself”: Amassia Niziblian’s debut solo exhibition.
On October 1st, 2021 Amassia Niziblian, a 21-year-old Armenian-Canadian artist, debuted her very first solo art exhibition at the Hay Art Cultural Center in downtown Yerevan. Her work draws from her personal diary, as well as her Armenian identity and her experience as a woman.
06 December 2021 | Hena Aposhian
Zepure, Զեփյուռ, a Breeze
By Kristin Anahit Cass This article is done as a collaboration with Entanik, a global organization dedicated to uplifting and showcasing people in queer Armenian, SWANA, and allied communities. In vibrant red threads on hanging sheets, clothes, and even pads, Zepure explores the shame and public rules that regulate a woman’s body. Zepure is a queer, […]
23 November 2021 | Azad Archives
The Red Painting
by Paula Kjdrian Tonight I am just another slut, only in white. A pandora’s box, an attempt to see if my purity is a hoax. Tonight I will promise my eternity, my children, my body. He will promise his love to me only if I meet what he expects of me. Tonight I will lay […]
16 November 2021 | Paula Kjdrian
Behind Bride Kidnapping: Interview with Lara Aharonian
This article is Part 3 in a series on Bride Kidnapping. Read Part 1 here, and Part 2 here. In her work at the Women’s Resource Center, Lara Aharonian has seen multiple cases of bride kidnapping. In this interview, Mariam Avagyan talks to Aharonian about the silence around bride kidnapping, the importance of consent, and […]
25 October 2021 | Mariam Avagyan