Month: February 2021

GLENDALE—The Armenian American Museum and Cultural Center of California is seeking a General Contractor for the construction of the landmark center slated for summer groundbreaking.

The museum has issued a Request for Qualifications for interested General Contractors. The RFQ response deadline for interested General Contractors is March 5.

The museum anticipates the selection and appointment of the General Contractor in Spring 2021.

The Armenian American Museum will rise to a two-level 50,820 square foot museum complex built on a one-level semi-subterranean parking garage. The first level will feature the grand lobby, auditorium, learning center, demonstration kitchen, gift shop, and administrative offices. The second level will be dedicated to the permanent and temporary exhibition galleries as well as the collections archives.

The cultural and educational center’s programming plans include producing and hosting powerful, immersive, and thought-provoking permanent and temporary exhibitions, leading meaningful dialogues and discussions through engaging public programs, providing educational programs for adults, youth, kids, and families, preserving Armenian heritage through the museum’s collections and archives, and serving as an iconic venue for memorable experiences, gatherings, and celebrations.

The Armenian American Museum will be constructed in Central Park in Glendale, California. The museum has secured a long-term ground lease for up to 95 years with the City of Glendale for the city-owned property.

For more information, visit the website.

The mission of the Armenian American Museum and Cultural Center of California is to promote understanding and appreciation of America’s ethnic and cultural diversity by sharing the Armenian American experience. The vision is a cultural campus that enriches the community, educates the public on the Armenian American story, and empowers individuals to embrace cultural diversity and speak out against prejudice.

BY ALICE DERKEVORKIAN

At these difficult times, during the pandemic, being a music teacher and an educator became more important than ever for me, it became a moral duty. Teaching in an Armenian school became a way to bring the community together in front of grave challenges that we had never faced before. Every time I login to class and hear, “Good morning Mrs. Alice,” “Hi Mrs. Alice, inchbeses?” I feel a greater share of responsibility and profound need to pass on intellectual nourishment to our youth.

After what our country went through during the Artsakh war, every day of existence is a celebration and a mission to preserve and cultivate our Armenian heritage, traditions, and morals. At the same time, it is important to strengthen our younger generation by motivating them to be more involved in local matters and cultivate their feeling of belonging as equal citizens of the United States with all the rights and responsibilities.

Merdinian School stands out as a unique institution, where pursuit of excellence always goes hand in hand with great values and morals. In order to reflect our Christian values, our American nationality, and our Armenian cultural heritage, each Monday’s Chapel music event is filled with empathy and respect to the prevailing holidays and historic events both of our homeland, Armenia, and the United States. Our role as Armenians shouldn’t be limited to understanding our own cultural background only, but also to learn about the surrounding cultures and their musical traditions.

Here is a brief view of some of our virtual chapel music meetings.

For the occasion of Thanksgiving, the topic of study was Native American musical instruments used by Wampanoag tribes who welcomed the Pilgrims in 1620 in Plymouth Rock.

On Christmas, students learned about the Origin of Christmas Carols and the evolution of the Carols throughout the church’s reform during the  Elizabethan times in England.

In January, when America celebrates Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. day, students learned about Jazz, with a focus on a few world-famous Jazz musicians who were born and raised in segregated communities. Among those were Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, and Miles Davis, who became Jazz icons and created America’s image as “The Capital of Jazz.”

To further emphasize Dr. King Jr.’s message and legacy, students listened to Aretha Franklin’s “Mary Don’t You Weep,” a Gospel based on a spiritual that originated before the civil war. It shows the great strength and the perseverance of the slaves who never lost hope. They also learned about “Battle Hymn of the Republic,” which originated during the civil war, whose lyrics were written by American abolitionist poet and author, Julya Wards. 

All over the world, it is through music and meaningful songs, that we cry our battles and mourn our soldiers. Through music we boost the morale of our troops, with a feeling of devotion and strong bonds to the homeland. As the “Battle Hymn of the Republic” symbolizes hope, patriotism, and freedom for Americans, “Mardigi Yerke,” also known as “Trcheyi Mdkov Dun,” symbolizes nostalgia, comforting our Armenian soldiers in the borders of Artsakh and Armenia. Through the song a deep grief, message of love, and reassurance were sent to the mothers waiting for their sons to hopefully return home. On the occasion of Armenian Army day, we listened to “Mardigi Yerk” and wished our National Army strength and prosperous victories with the “Haygagan Panagi Yerk.”

It is incredible how technology eased and strengthened teacher-student bonds during virtual learning. At Merdianian, overnight, students and faculty got access to Google Classroom, Slides, and Docs. Without this quick technological response it would not have been possible to create the strong virtual learning environment we have. Thank you to our technology and curriculum coordinator Betty Nazarian who worked tirelessly to guide us through this technological endeavor during the pandemic. Last but not least, our deepest gratitude goes to Merdinian School Principal Mrs. Lina Arslanian for her selfless devotion and unlimited support and dedication to the faculty, staff, and students.

Alice Derkevorkian is a Music teacher at Merdinian Armenian Evangelical School in Sherman Oaks, Calif. She is a pianist, accompanist, and educator who has lived in Los Angeles-area since 2007.

Unknown assailants have vandalized a monument dedicated to the Holocaust by spray painting graffiti over the Hebrew letters on the structure, which was created as a memorial to the victims of the Genocides of the Armenian and Jewish people.

Yerevan police has launched an investigation with officials from all spectrums condemning the desecration of the monument, known as the “To Live and Not Forget” memorial that is located at a part on the intersection of Moskovyan and Teryan streets.

Specialists at Yerevan City Hall were mobilized Friday to restore the monument and wipe off the graffiti.

Hakob Karapetyan, the spokesperson for Yerevan Mayor Hayk Marutyan condemned the incident, saying there is no place for such crimes in Yerevan “where representatives of various nations are living side by side as Yerevantsis,” reported Armenspress.

“The desecration of any memorial is extremely unacceptable, especially memorials which are related to minorities living in the city. I think this problem should be solved through cooperation with aw enforcement agencies,” Karapetyan said when asked about efforts to put an end to such hate crimes in the future, since Friday’s incident was the second time this particular memorial has been targeted by vandals during the last few months.

Mayor Marutyan expressed hope that law enforcement agencies will give a swift and adequate response to the incident.

“Such an encroachment against any memorial is an unequivocally unacceptable and condemnable act which should never happen in our city.
Noted Jewish-Armenian composer William Weiner said he sees “foreign forces” in the vandalism and that he is certain that this couldn’t have been committed by an Armenian.

“As a citizen of Armenia, as a native Yerevantsi, I very much regret that things like this are happening here. I don’t understand it, I don’t want to understand it, this is the country where things like this never happened before, and I cannot understand who organized this. This is unacceptable for me. I am sure this wasn’t committed by an Armenian. I am certain that this is from outside,” Weiner told Armenpress.

Prosperous Armenia Party lawmaker Naira Zohrabyan, who is a member of the parliamentary Armenia-Israel friendship group, also condemned the vandalism.

“This is vandalism. Regardless what our attitude is (it is definitely negative) for the Israeli arms sales and overt military and political support to Azerbaijan during the latest Artsakh War, the Holocaust memorial cannot be desecrated,” said Zohrabyan. “We publicly express our protest to Israel’s policy, but desecrating the memory of victims is vandalism. I condemn Israel’s military support to Azerbaijan and the Israeli foreign ministry’s statements supporting the Turkish-Azerbaijani military aggression, but I bow before the memory of the innocent victims of the Holocaust.”

Azerbaijan may have already buried the bodies of killed Armenian soldiers in mass graves, Artsakh presidential chief of staff Artak Beglaryan told Hetq.am.

Beglaryan, who until recently was Artsakh Human Rights Defender, said that reports have been circulating about the mass burials, which is compounding the problem of finding and identifying the bodies of the deceased.

He pledged that the Artsakh government will probe the matter with relevant bodies, including the Russian peacekeeping forces in the region.

He said hundreds of bodies have not been identified yet, admitting that the process has taken longer than expected. Beglaryan said the main obstacle in the process is the DNA identification.

The president’s chief of staff also confirmed to Hetq.am that Artsakh will continue to have its own armed forces, addressing speculation on social media and other circles that efforts were underway to disband the Artsakh Armed Forces.

The issue was also confirmed by Artsakh Foreign Minister David Babayan and National Security advisor Vitaly Balassanyan in recent days.

Beglaryan told Hetq.am that the Artsakh Army will continue ensure the security of Artsakh’s population and will work in conjunction with the Russian peacekeepers stationed in the country.

“Naturally, Azerbaijan would very much like to see no armed people in Artsakh. I think it would very much like to see no Russian peacekeepers. Azerbaijan’s wishes in this respect do not matter,” Beglaryan told Hetq.am.

In a separate interview with News.am, Beglaryan said Russian peacekeepers are carrying out construction projects in the area near the Stepanakert airport with permission from Artsakh authorities.

Asked if the construction efforts were linked to runways or terminals and other facilities of the airport, Beglaryan stated that they are different types projects underway in that area.