Photography exhibit of portraits of Armenian Genocide survivors in Massachusetts

PanARMENIAN.Net - The Massachusetts State House will display "iwitness," a unique photography exhibit of portraits of Armenian Genocide survivors. The exhibition is free and open to the public and will take place from Mon., March 23 through Fri., March 27 in Doric Hall at the Massachusetts State House. Parian will lead a guided tour of the exhibit on Tues., March 24. It's a one-week exhibit by Ara Oshagan and Levon Parian.



Hosted by State Representative Jonathan Hecht (Middlesex 29) and sponsored by the Armenian Library and Museum of America (ALMA) and the Armenian National Committee (ANC) of Massachusetts, "iwitness" is the work of Los Angeles-based photographers Ara Oshagan and Levon Parian. The exhibit pairs powerful black-and-white portraits of Armenian Genocide survivors with their oral histories.



Oshagan and Parian worked with a team of oral historians and created "iwitness" as part of "The Genocide Project," which aims to raise awareness about the genocide through visual and oral documentation.



"We wanted to do something to somehow artistically reflect upon the genocide," says Oshagan. "Even though we're three generations removed from the actual fact, it is still very much part of our community and part of our consciousness." The photos have been displayed in city halls, galleries, and museums, and most recently have been launched into a program to help teachers teach and raise awareness about the genocide in the Los Angeles unified school district.



The "iwitness" exhibit will be accompanied by ALMA's traveling genocide exhibit, which combines statistics and other accounts in text and photographs in an effort to educate the public about the first genocide of the 20th century.



The one-week display will then travel to ALMA, in Watertown, where it will be displayed in the Museum's Bedoukian Hall from Thurs., April 2 through May 2009, The Armenian Weekly reports.