New series “House Culture” visits Armenia with host Christopher Atamian
In Armenia — a land of breathtaking landscapes, ancient traditions and a history that stretches back millennia — culture is not just celebrated; it is lived. In the CivilNet-produced House Culture, writer and filmmaker Christopher Atamian takes viewers inside the intimate spaces where some of Armenia’s most revered artists and writers once lived, creating a vivid portrait of the nation’s soul through its house museums, or doon tankarans. From the sleek, modern Saryan House Museum in Yerevan’s bustling Kentron district to the folkloric 19th-century home of the avant-garde Aslamazyan sisters in Gyumri, Armenia’s second-largest city, these museums are more than archives — they are living testaments to creativity, memory and legacy.
Reflecting on the project, Atamian said, “It gives me great pleasure to present the lives of renowned Armenian writers and artists to audiences who may never have heard of them before or only know snippets of works memorized in school or elsewhere.” Though filming in a foreign country can be challenging, Atamian credited the CivilNet team for their dedication: “CivilNet made talented people available to me throughout, especially producer and researcher Hasmik Hovhannisyan, and our amazing editor and camera person Ani Balayan. We wrote and shot the five films in about two months — which is quite a clip. But ultimately, it is thanks to the team in Yerevan that they turned out so well.”
Across five short films, Atamian explores stories of genius and resilience. The journey begins with three of Armenia’s literary giants: Yeghishe Charents, Paruyr Sevak and Avetik Isahakyan.
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Yeghishe Charents, the country’s literary rebel, lived fast and wrote fiercely, drawing comparisons to Russia’s Mayakovsky.
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Paruyr Sevak, born in the humble village of Zangakatun near the Iranian border, rose to national prominence through his unmatched poetic mastery.
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Avetik Isahakyan, inspired by the mysticism of Persian poets Hafez and Rumi, crafted some of Armenia’s most romantic and enduring verses.
From the poetic, the series moves to the cinematic: the Parajanov Museum, perched above a massive gorge in Yerevan, honors Sergei Parajanov, the visionary filmmaker often called the “Fellini of the Caucasus.” Though he passed away before the museum’s completion, Parajanov’s singular vision continues to inspire — from avant-garde cinema circles to pop icons like Lady Gaga.
Finally, viewers step into the Lusik Aguletsi House Museum, dedicated to a woman displaced from her ancestral village of Agulis in Nakhichevan. A self-taught anthropologist and artist, she preserved over a thousand artifacts — from traditional garments and puppets to intricate silverwork — ensuring that a threatened cultural legacy endures.
Armenia, once a vital node of the Old Silk Road, has given the world some of its most exceptional poets, artists and filmmakers. In these five short films, Christopher Atamian invites viewers into houses of memory, celebrating the creators who shaped the soul of this extraordinary nation. This is more than a series — it is a cinematic journey into the heart of a culture where art, history and life converge.
Experience all five films in the series on YouTube.
