Member event at Armenian Museum of America mixes art, philanthropy and community

WATERTOWN, Mass.—The Armenian Museum of America’s second annual Members Reception and Christmas Gallery Stroll on Dec. 7 was a huge success, with more than 125 members in attendance. It was a lively evening of networking, enjoying art and supporting our compatriots in Armenia who were displaced from Artsakh.

Executive Director Jason Sohigian, President Michele Kolligian, artist Ara Oshagan, Trustee Carolyn Mugar and Vice President Bob Khederian (Photo: Daniel Ayriyan)

Guests enjoyed Armenian and Christmas songs performed by pianist Levon Hovsepian and were welcomed by remarks from Museum President Michele Kolligian and Executive Director Jason Sohigian.

Last month the Museum announced a fundraising drive, which was offered to everyone in attendance and is still available online and in the Gift Shop. 100-percent of proceeds from the purchase of the new line of Michael Aram Christmas ornaments in the Museum’s Gift Shop will go towards humanitarian relief for the Armenians of Artsakh.

Vice President Bob Khederian, Trustee Mark Kolligian and Leah Talatinian, chair of the Museum’s Marketing Committee and senior officer for marketing and communications for the arts at MIT (Photo: Daniel Ayriyan)

Reflecting on the current situation, Museum President Michele Kolligian remarked: “Our mission to preserve and share Armenian art, history and culture has never been more important. The genocide of innocent Armenians living in Artsakh and 120,000 people forced to flee from their homeland was beyond horrific. To add to these evil and vicious acts, the Azeris have been destroying our ancient churches, monuments, museums and any other reminder of Armenia’s religious and cultural contributions to history and are actually claiming Armenian artifacts as their own! It is important now more than ever to preserve our cultural history, which is housed here in the largest Armenian museum outside of Armenia.”

A number of students volunteered at the member appreciation event. These girls helped with ornament sales benefitting Armenians from Artsakh. They are pictured in front of Ara Oshagan’s scrolls that depict people and places in Artsakh photographed from 1999-2007. (Photo: Daniel Ayriyan)

A number of Museum Trustees were in attendance along with artist Ara Oshagan, who guests had the chance to meet and discuss his “Disrupted, Borders” installation in the Adele and Haig Der Manuelian Galleries. For more information or to support the Armenian Museum of America, please visit www.armenianmuseum.org.

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Armenian Museum of America

The Armenian Museum of America is the largest Armenian museum in the Diaspora. It has grown into a major repository for all forms of Armenian material culture that illustrate the creative endeavors of the Armenian people over the centuries. Today, the Museum’s collections hold more than 25,000 artifacts including 5,000 ancient and medieval Armenian coins, 1,000 stamps and maps, 30,000 books, 3,000 textiles and 180 Armenian inscribed rugs, and an extensive collection of Urartian and religious artifacts, ceramics, medieval illuminations and various other objects. The collection includes historically significant objects, including five of the Armenian Bibles printed in Amsterdam in 1666.