Armenian Genocide-themed “Never Forgotten” quilt to go on display

PanARMENIAN.Net - Connecticut-based Anna Tufankjian’s 2015 quilt, “Never Forgotten,” was created with respectful memory of the 1.5 million Armenians who perished during the Armenian Genocide of 1915, and the diaspora that followed, the Armenian Weekly reports.

The images on the quilt include Mount Ararat; the Armenian flag; a drawing of Kecharis Monastery, representing Armenia as the first Christian nation; and a map of the early Armenian Empire, which once reached from the Black Sea to the Caspian Sea. The grapevines represent just one of the bountiful harvests grown in the shadow of Mt. Ararat and one of the traditional foods replanted worldwide through the diaspora.

The line from the poem “We Are Few” by Paruyr Sevak, written in 1965 on the 50th anniversary of the genocide, crosses the bottom of the quilt, while the same line is written at the top in the Armenian language.

The forget-me-not flower scattered over the quilt is the official emblem of the worldwide observance of the centennial of the Armenian Genocide.

Family photographs of the ancestors of the Tufankjian and Hampigian families are shown as examples of two families that found a way to survive, came to America, married, and carried on their rich Armenian heritage.

The names on the borders are some of the families that survived and taught future generations their Armenian history, art, religion, music, food, literature, and especially the strength of character of their ancestors.

To educate the public on the Armenian Genocide, the quilt will be shown on Aug 1-2 at the Greater Hartford Quilt Guild show at the Toyota Oakdale Theater. It will also be submitted for entry in the Studio Art Quilters Association’s juried art exhibit “Diaspora” at the Textile Museum in Washington in October 2015.