Armenian Genocide 110th Anniversary Exhibitions to Open This Week in Armenia and Diaspora Communities

This week, Armenia and Armenian communities around the world are coming together to mark a deeply emotional milestone: the 110th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. Through powerful exhibitions and meaningful tributes, Armenians everywhere are remembering their ancestors, honoring those who stood by them, and continuing the fight for justice and recognition.

The Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute (AGMI) in Yerevan is leading this effort with a new exhibition called “Documenting the Crime: Eyewitness Documenters of the Armenian Genocide.” This temporary exhibit will open on Wednesday and focuses on people who saw the genocide with their own eyes and recorded what they witnessed. These were diplomats, journalists, and missionaries from around 26 countries who risked everything to speak the truth.

“This exhibition is very unique,” said Edita Gzoyan, the director of AGMI, during a press conference on Monday. “It looks at the individuals who were in the Ottoman Empire during the genocide and who documented what was happening through photos and reports. Many of them were foreigners, but we are also highlighting people from inside the Ottoman Empire who dared to tell the world what was going on.”

These exhibitions are not only happening in Armenia. They are being held all around the world, reminding everyone that this story is not just Armenian—it is global. An exhibition has already opened in Bucharest, and others will follow this week in Moscow and St.

Petersburg. In Poland, a two-day exhibition is set for April 23 and 24, while a traveling exhibition will move across the United States during April, May, and June. Organizers are also working on a possible event in Brazil.

The exhibitions use large posters with powerful images and information from the genocide era. These images serve as a reminder of the violence Armenians faced in 1915, when 1.5 million people were systematically killed by the Ottoman Empire. But they also remind us of the courage of those who tried to help and those who made sure the world would never forget.

One special tribute this year is the addition of two important names to the Armenian Genocide Memorial in Yerevan. The first is Raphael Lemkin, a lawyer who gave the world the very word genocide. Lemkin studied the Armenian case closely and used it as one of the key examples when creating the legal term after World War II. Thanks to his work, the world now has laws to define and prevent genocide. On June 24, an official ceremony will take place in Yerevan to honor him. Soil from his grave has already been brought to Armenia as part of this tribute.

The second person to be honored is Rear Admiral Louis Dartige du Fournet of France. In 1915, during the genocide, he made a bold decision without waiting for approval from his superiors. He sent ships to the shores near Musa Dagh, a mountain in modern-day Turkey where thousands of Armenians had taken refuge. His brave action helped save around 4,000 Armenians from certain death.

“These names are being added to the memorial not just because of what they did, but because of what they stood for—humanity, courage, and moral responsibility,” said Gzoyan.

As the 110th anniversary is marked across Armenia and the diaspora, these exhibitions and tributes serve as more than just historical reminders. They are calls to action. Calls to remember. Calls to speak the truth. And above all, calls to never forget.

Through remembrance, Armenians continue to hold onto their history—and continue to demand justice for the genocide that shaped their nation and their identity.