Armenian Genocide Centennial Commemoration in New Jersey

The Armenian National Committee (ANC) of New Jersey will host a program dedicated to the Centennial of the Armenian Genocide on April 25, at the St. Vartanantz Armenian Apostolic Church. Marian Mesrobian MacCurdy and Kristi Rendahl will deliver keynote addresses, followed by a film presentation by Talin Avakian.

MacCurdy, currently special assistant to the president at Hampshire College and visiting professor of writing at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, received her M.A. degree in British Literature and her Ph.D. in Humanities from Syracuse University. She is the granddaughter of Aaron Sachaklian—one of the three masterminds of Operation Nemesis. She recently published Sacred Justice: The Voices & Legacy of the Armenian Operation Nemesis—a book based on letters sent to her grandfather during the operation.

Originally from a family farm in North Dakota, Kristi Rendahl lived and worked in Armenia from 1997-2002; she visits the country regularly. She works with the Center for Victims of Torture as the organizational development advisor to ten torture treatment centers around the world, and is pursuinga doctorate in public administration. Rendahl writes a monthly column for The Armenian Weekly. She resides in St. Paul, Minn.

Talin Avakian on the set of Voltage, the 2011 MassArt Senior Fashion film.

Talin Avakian is a filmmaker and visual artist who has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the Massachusetts College of Art and Design. Her film, “Demi Pointe,” won “Best Short” in the Boston International Film Festival. She is currently working on three documentary short films shot in Western Armenia. She will premier her new short film “Two Tales of a City” at this event. The film tells the story of Ekrem and Ayda Borekjian, and Sarkis and Baydzar Eken—two couples, born and raised in the lively historic city of Dikranagerd. Fast forward to 2015, and we find them on opposite sides of the globe, many years later, recalling their past in a place where they tried to practice their Armenian culture, as an oppressed minority.

The church service begins at 7 p.m., followed by the program at 8 p.m., with the participation of the AYF-YOARF of New Jersey “Arsen” Chapter, Hamazkayin New Jersey Arekag Chorus, and the Homenetmen Scouts.

The St. Vartanantz Armenian Apostolic Church is located at 461 Bergen Boulevard, Ridgefield, N.J. For more information, call Maral Sahagian at (845) 641-7187.