On April 22, UCLA Students to Mark Genocide With Look Into Its Cultural Response

Community Invited to Campus to Explore Genocide’s Impact on Armenian Art and Literature

LOS ANGELES–Students and community members from across the greater Los Angeles area will have a unique opportunity this Wednesday, April 22 to explore the impact of the Armenian Genocide on art and culture in the Armenian reality.

The issue is seldom given attention during annual genocide commemorations in the community and promises to be a welcomed break with established norms, according to its organizers.

The event, dubbed Rebirth: A Cultural Response to the Armenian Genocide, will begin at 6pm at UCLA’s Ackerman Grand Ballroom (308 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles, CA). It is being organized by the Armenian Students’ Association at UCLA in association with the Armenian Youth Federation, the Unified Young Armenians and the All-ASA confederation 308 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles, CA.

“We have commemorated the Armenian Genocide for almost a century. But do we all know and understand the horrific extent of the consequences wrought by that crime?” asked Mariam Tsaturyan, one of the event’s organizers. “The Genocide affected more than just the population figures and geographic area of the Armenian nation. It also drastically transformed our culture, literature and art.”

“Our goal is to use art and culture to show how the Armenian Genocide changed not just our demographics but also our way of life,” Tsaturyan said.

Wednesday’s program will showcase a combination of visual displays and presentations to illustrate the transformation of literature and art that followed the Armenian Genocide. Speakers will include Vahe Berberian and Lilly Thomassian, who will also be performing her play “Let the Rocks Speak.”

The event will also include an art show and a rare collection from the Armenian Philatelic Society featuring stamps from the First Republic of Armenia, as well as Genocide commemorative stamps from across the world.