Film by Anush Titanyan
Project Director: Davit Stepanyan
The film has been implemented within the “ACTV- Alternative Coverage Workshops”, with the support of European Endowment for Democracy (EED).

Initiated by IDHR (Institute for Democracy and Human Rights)

http://www.idhr.am/

Initiated by IDHR – Institute for Democracy and Human Rights

http://www.idhr.am/

Initiative: INKNAGIR literary club

Landscape Garden –  Gohar Karapetyan and David Nubaryan, Open University of Armenia, Department of  Fine Arts.
Qo-char City – Sahak Poghosyan                                                                                                                                                                                        Citizens of Empty Space -in cooperation with the Swiss artistic group “Laps”

Narek Sargsyan shares his own personal vision of the future of Yerevan and presents the activities of the organization founded by him.

15.03.2012, Cafesjian Art Center

The “Sweet 60s” project is a long-term experimental, curatorial, scientific and educational research project that explores the hidden territories of the revolutionary period of the 1960s  from contemporary artistic and theoretical points of view,  developing around itself a wide international network of interested and cooperating individuals and institutions.

The curatorial and artistic focus of the “Sweet 60s” project lies on “post ideological societies” (in post-Soviet, post socialist, Eastern European, Middle Eastern, West and Central Asian as well as North African countries and the second phase in China and Latin America),  making a comparative analysis and contextualizing the historical developments in the art, culture and social life of the 60s – 70s and looking into their influence on the formation of contemporary socio-political and cultural situations.

Ruben Arevshatyan is an artist, art and cultural critic and a free-lance curator. Since 2005, he is member of AICA-Armenia. Between 1997-2004 he was the art director of the Yerevan Hay-Art Center of Arts. He teaches History of Art at the Department of Fine Arts at the Armenian Open University. He has curated and participated in numerous local and international projects and exhibitions. He is the co-author and co-curator of the “Sweet 60s” international research project. Arevshatyan is also the co-editor of the www.red-thread.org electronic periodical.

For more information click here:  www.red-thread.org

The buildings built in the recent years  represent New York’s attempts to contrast the old with the new.  The perspective developments of the capital Yerevan and the question of what kind of city we want to live in in the near and far future are also discussed.

During the conversation, Areg answers the audience’s questions.

Additional information: Areg Asatryan graduated from the Yerevan Polytechnic Institute in 1980 , from the Faculty of Architecture and was mostly involved in restoring cultural and historical monuments. He has been living in New York  for more than 11 years , where he participates in developing plans for high-rise residential and hotel buildings  at the architectural  firm Ismael Leyva Architects.

Euphoria (from Ancient Greek εΰ, “well”, and φέρειν. “to bear”) is a mental and emotional condition in which a person experiences intense feelings of well-being, elation, happiness, ecstasy, excitement and joy.

On January 1, 2011, the Mayor  Karen Karapetyan forbade the trade in the streets of Yerevan, which was followed by regular protests. Having lost their only means of living, people demanded to have their jobs back. Demonstrations were held in front of different state institutions, such as the City Hall, the Government, the Republican Party’s Central Office, and the Presidential Residence. Press conferences, public hearings and petitions were organized at the same time .

However, the previously promised alternative solutions were not carried out – leaving the problem unsolved.

“Euphoria” is an experimental film (with a duration of 25 minutes) which, using videos from different news sources and amateur film-makers, depicts the struggle of the people engaged in outdoor trade, their clashes with the police, followed by commentaries

The film is a combination of re-edited media materials and interviews. It aims to deconstruct the media-language structure by suggesting a new purpose and meaning.

“Euphoria” proposes to use the online video archives as a source for creating protest films.

The film-screening was attended by a number of artists, civil society activists, students, etc. It had overwhelmingly positive feedback.