U.S. Commits $166,000 to Restore Armenian-American Artist’s Museum in Armenia

The United States has committed $166,000 to restore a museum dedicated to Armenian-American artist Khoren Der-Harootian in Vagharshapat, Armenia, as part of an effort to preserve his work and make it more accessible to the public.

The funding will cover repairs to the Khoren Der-Harootian Memorial Museum, including the restoration of two exhibition floors and improvements to the storage and display of its 261 artworks.

U.S. Embassy Public Affairs Officer Griffin Rozell and Armenia’s Deputy Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sports Alfred Kocharyan attended the project’s launch.

Der-Harootian was an Armenian-American modernist artist whose work forms part of the cultural legacy of the Armenian diaspora. The museum houses a collection of his art, making it an important site for preserving that legacy in his ancestral homeland.

The restoration is being financed through the U.S. Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation, a State Department program that helps protect historic sites, artwork and cultural traditions around the world.

This year’s funding coincides with the 250th anniversary of American independence. To mark the occasion, the program is giving special attention to cultural heritage sites with connections to the United States, including the museum in Vagharshapat.

The project is the latest in a series of American-funded restoration efforts in Armenia.

Since 2005, the United States has provided approximately $1.84 million for 16 cultural preservation projects across the country, according to the U.S. Embassy.

Among the sites that have received support are the fifth-century Yereruyk Basilica in Shirak Province, the medieval Sanahin Monastery Complex and Dashtadem Fortress.

American funding has also helped restore historic frescoes at St. Hovhannes Church in Meghri, protect archaeological remains at Areni Cave and preserve murals by Armenian artists Rafayel Atoyan and Hakob Hakobyan in Gyumri.

The Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation was established in 2001 and has since supported heritage conservation projects worldwide.

For the museum in Vagharshapat, the new funding will address the building’s condition while helping protect a collection that documents the artistic contributions of an Armenian who built his career in the United States.

—

Support independent reporting from the region by subscribing to The Armenian Report. Our team is funded solely by readers like you.