Survivors

Vahagn Hayrapetyan, a student of Barry Harris and Frank Hewitt and an ”Honored artist of the Republic of Armenia,” is an accomplished jazz pianist, singer and composer, the founder and director of the avant-garde jazz and rock band “Katouner” (“The Cats”). Once, when Vahagn was eight years old, his grandfather began rattling off names of cities, and Vahagn asked him to mark them on a map and connect them with lines. Little did he know that the man, a Genocide survivor, was drawing the route of his salvation.

Jeweler Thierry Vendome is a chip off the old block. Son of the great Jean Vendome, known in France as the father of contemporary jewelry, Thierry has progressively learned to stand on his own through time and his creations.

Varduhie Varderesyan was a prominent film and theater actress in Armenia. In addition to many roles and performances, she made over 100 recordings at Armenia’s National Radio Golden Fund. She received the title of “People’s Artist” and won numerous awards. At the age of 87, Varderesyan was a singular representative of the senior generation gracing the Armenian stage. Varduhie Varderesyan passed away in Yerevan on November 24, 2015.

Jivan Gasparyan, an internationally renowned "master of the duduk," says that though there is grief in everyone’s heart, there is no need for lamentation. We need to continue living. “The wounds of the earth can be healed, but the wounds of the heart cannot,” he quotes the lines of a song he wrote. Through the melodies of his duduk, he presents the world with both the indelible wounds of the Armenians and their passion to live and create.

“That’s it. The greens have come out. The Armenian children won’t die,” the caregivers at the orphanage would say whenever spring came to Turkey. They were referring to the special characteristic of Armenian cuisine, where dishes are often seasoned with lots of herbs. In 1915, hunger turned those greens into a daily meal for children at the orphanage; among them was the grandfather of Seda Galoyan.

Anna Mazmanian, a blogger, cook and founder of the Food Adventures culinary project dedicates all of her time to the study and revival of her homeland’s cuisine because her family’s history is directly tied to Armenian culture and the events of the distant past.

When Mher Karakashian teaches history to his students at the Sourp Hagop Armenian School in Montreal, he reminds them: “Whatever difficulties or challenges life throws in your face, just resist. Fight it. This is what my grandparents taught me. That was the message of my late grandmother, and I grew up with this idea.”

“You know you exist when someone is there opposite you who acknowledges your presence and your narrative. Until what happened 100 years ago is fully acknowledged, there will be no reconciliation for that part of our history, no matter how many centuries pass,” says artist Arsinée Khanjian.

“My father visited Armenia during the Soviet era; he went to Tsitsernakaberd and returned a changed man. He broke down and cried while standing next to the eternal flame. It was as if the pillars had crushed him. He still cries when he tells the story. I only understood the essence and significance of Tsitsernakaberd when I visited the memorial,” says filmmaker Atom Egoyan.

“For us, Genocide is not just about one day, April 24. It’s about our lives, or a great part of our lives. To me, April 25 is even more important, as we Armenians have to move forward,” says avant-garde folk artist and Grammy award winner Arto Tunçboyaciyan.