AMA to Present CK Garabed Exhibit

The Writer of ‘Uncle Garabed’s Notebook’ to Exhibit Watercolor Paintings, Discuss ‘Dikranagerd Vernacular Handbook’

WATERTOWN, Mass.—C.K. Garabed (Charles G. Kasbarian) is best known to Armenians for his writings and editorial projects, but he is also a versatile visual artist. On Sun., May 24, the Armenian Museum of America (AMA) will host an exhibition of his abstract watercolor paintings—the first exhibition of its kind in New England. These striking pieces recall imaginings from his Armenian subconscious and were crafted to permit viewers to walk away with their own interpretations.

2015 marks the 25th year that C.K. Garabed has been writing his column, “Uncle Garabed’s Notebook,” a popular mainstay of the Armenian Weekly. As such, the AMA will also include displays of his writings. For the last 40 years, C.K. Garabed has researched the etymology of Armenian surnames, and has written about them in the last 10. He recently released an online publication, “The Dikranagerd Vernacular Handbook,” the culmination of decades of speaking and studying the dialect and unique expressions of his ancestors from that province of Western Armenia.

At the May 24 reception, C.K. Garabed will present a talk in his capacity as an artist and raconteur, assisted by writer and political cartoonist Lucine Kasbarian, his daughter. This will include illustrating the provenance of some unusual Armenian surnames and narrating humorous anecdotes from the Armenian oral tradition. Recordings of his music compositions will play in the background after his talk.

The event begins at 2 p.m. in the Adele & Haig Der Manuelian Galleries. It is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served. The Armenian Museum of America is located at 65 Main St. in Watertown.