CeramaZart: Reshaping heritage, home and healing for Artsakh Armenians
More than a year after the blockade of Artsakh—followed by war and ethnic cleansing—forcibly displaced Artsakh Armenians continue to grapple with immense challenges in Armenia. Having lost their homes, property and homeland, their primary struggles now revolve around securing shelter and employment. Amid these hardships, efforts to safeguard cultural heritage and create healing spaces have emerged as vital initiatives.
In 2022, the GOY Humanitarian Foundation established CeramaZart Cultural Center—a social enterprise designed to support forcibly displaced artists and individuals affected by the 2020 war and subsequent displacement in 2023. The center features a ceramics workshop-studio dedicated to reviving traditional Armenian pottery. Its mission is to breathe life into centuries-old ornaments, carpet patterns and bird-letter motifs while offering displaced artists access to professional, creative and educational opportunities.
“Our collective mission is to empower displaced Artsakh Armenians to secure dignified, paid employment—enabling them to address their challenges independently and live fulfilling lives in Armenia without feeling compelled to leave the country,” said Azatoohi Simonian, Chair of the Board of Trustees of the GOY Humanitarian Foundation and Founder of CeramaZart, during the closing exhibition of Development Through Art, Professional Growth, Employment and Mental Harmony for Displaced Individuals held on March 14 in Yerevan. The program was co-funded by the French organization LaGuilde.
Speaking to the Weekly, Simonian highlighted the severe shortage of workspaces and tools for forcibly displaced artists now residing in Armenia. Through CeramaZart’s initiatives, she explained, these artists can not only preserve intangible heritage through ceramics, but also create decorative hangings and functional items. “Everything that’s produced, we sell—with 100% of proceeds directed toward sustaining the program: retaining new artists, covering material costs and ensuring long-term viability,” she added.
At the closing ceremony, Dominique Vaysse, Counselor for Cooperation and Cultural Action and Educational Cooperation Attaché at the French Embassy in Armenia, affirmed France’s unwavering support for displaced Armenian communities. Addressing why the French Embassy backed this initiative, she explained, “Our approach aligns with the principle of teaching to fish rather than giving fish.” Vaysse reiterated France’s commitment to standing alongside displaced Artsakh Armenians—advocating for their right to return while ensuring sustained support for their resilience.
For displaced artists like Ofelia Martirosyan, the CeramaZart Cultural Center has become a lifeline. A mother of two, Martirosyan lost her husband—a soldier—during the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war. A professional actress at Stepanakert’s Dramatic Theater, she continued performing even during the blockade imposed by Azerbaijan, staging her final show just days before the forced evacuation.
Before her displacement, Martirosyan had been collecting old pottery fragments from different villages. “I used to gather old pots in Stepanakert. When I had to leave everything behind, I felt like I lost not just my home but a part of our history with those pots,” she said. This passion for Armenian pottery ultimately drew her to the CeramaZart program. “After displacement, I needed ceramics most. It served as therapy,” she told the Weekly.
Today in Armenia, theater opportunities have all but vanished due to financial constraints and the dispersal of displaced artists across the country. While she holds out hope for a revival of the arts, Martirosyan is now focused on mastering new skills through CeramaZart. Participants in the program learn ceramic painting techniques that blend traditional Armenian motifs, such as bird-letter symbols and carpet patterns.
Lusine Aydinyan, another participant, joined the CeramaZart program with a clear and ambitious goal: to integrate pottery into the curriculum of the reopened Shushi Technological College in Yerevan, where she teaches. For Aydinyan, working with clay is more than a craft—it’s a therapeutic process. “Clay, with its pliability and softness, absorbs our problems and allows us to temporarily release our thoughts from pain and struggles,” she shared in an interview.
The program has provided her with technical skills and a supportive environment to explore creativity alongside others who share similar experiences of displacement. Participants have crafted functional items such as cups, plates and small houses—each piece blending traditional Armenian motifs with modern designs. One artist created a clay replica of her house key left behind in Artsakh.
Among the few male participants is Samvel Tavadyan, an artist from Shushi known for his distinctive style. Through CeramaZart, he has transformed some of his most celebrated creations into ceramic art. His repertoire includes symbolic Tatik Papik figures and intricate depictions of Artsakh’s ancient churches, now reimagined in ceramic form.
Yet for Tavadyan, ceramics is more than just a craft—it is a way to process loss and keep alive the memory of what was left behind. He first fled Shushi during the 2020 war, leaving behind his home, studio and over 200 paintings. After returning to Stepanakert, he was displaced again in 2023. Despite these upheavals, he has found a new creative outlet. “Working with ceramics requires technical skill and precise color harmony,” he explained. “I joined the program with love and created unique pieces, but canvas and oil paints remain my true affinity.”
CeramaZart also extends its impact to some of the most vulnerable members of the Artsakh community: children affected by war and displacement. Prioritizing free clay therapy courses for children, the initiative aims to address trauma through creative expression. Guided by qualified psychologists and art therapists, these sessions offer a safe space for emotional healing.
In partnership with the Hayordi Charitable Foundation—established after the 2020 war to support families impacted by conflict—CeramaZart provides therapeutic clay art sessions for displaced children of Hayordi’s beneficiaries, including those under six who have suffered profound loss. “This approach is vital for young trauma survivors, fostering emotional security through art,” said Hayordi Foundation President Vache Vardanyan. He emphasized the urgent need for such programs, noting that over 2,000 children have lost family members due to war or explosions.
“CeramaZart creates an environment where children feel ‘at home,’ allowing them to process their pain in a nurturing setting,” he added.
The workshop also partners with the “Artsakh Mothers’ Support Center” NGO to expand its reach. Through this collaboration, displaced families can enroll their children in free pottery courses, designed specifically for Artsakh’s youngest survivors.
CeramaZart is more than a space for crafting ceramics—it is a sanctuary for healing and cultural safeguarding. For displaced Armenians, each piece of pottery is not just art. It is a symbol of survival and memory.
Siranush Sargsyan
