Author: Garo Vardanian

– PicsArt, a digital art app that lets users create drawings, paintings and edit photos has grown a sizable user base of more than 65 million monthly active users, about half as big as Pinterest.

Now, PicsArt’s first VP of product Argam DerHartunian is focused on a road map intended to ensure the app is simple enough for anyone to use, but nuanced enough that it still appeals to long-time users.

Many people discover the app through Instagram, where PicsArt users often share their creations. PicsArt’s focus on co-creation and public sharing helps set it apart from the wildly popular Instagram, whose 400 million monthly active users typically follow friends, celebrities and influencers. PicsArt and Instagram users can both post comments with their creations, but PicsArt gives users a much wider range of image editing and drawing tools, such as text bubbles and clipart, than what the Facebook-owned app offers.

“Not everyone comes to PicsArt knowing what to do and how and we will remove that barrier to creation,” DerHartunian said in an email. “PicsArt’s goal is to foster a place where everyone is creative. This means that everyone, regardless of artistic skill level, has the tools necessary to create, collaborate and share their work.”

What can users expect from DerHartunian? More image filters, new and simpler editing tools and a revamped onboarding process that will help people create sooner. He also wants to boost consumption on the app by making it easier for users to find other creators who spark their interest. The startup is constantly working to become better at curating content, as a large portion of users spend more time creating art on the app than consuming it. The app’s home screen, for example, shows users buckets of selected images, such as “daily inspiration” and “joined this week.”

Most importantly, DerHartunian says, he wants to promote collaboration among users. The app currently lets users invite Facebook friends to edit their photos asynchronously and share a video of the drawing process.

“There’s an untapped potential for people to create even more compelling and powerful images, things that will go viral, things that will inspire, if they’re creating with the help of others,” he said.

The app shows users step-by-step how different pieces were created, which has made the app popular in some schools. Musee D’Orsey in Paris, France, for example, of its own volition, incorporated the app into its children’s education program.

DerHartunian officially joined PicsArt in late October. He most recently served as VP of product at Vevo overseeing its mobile, web and TV apps. He helped the online music video service achieve a significant boost in registration and engagement, especially among teens, launched manually curated TV channels and led growth in Germany, Poland and Mexico. Before Vevo, he was a senior product manager at Electronic Arts  and cofounded AddVal Solutions, a consulting firm.

“Argam has built an engaging consumer experience at Vevo that has captured the attention of people worldwide,” PicsArt’s CEO, Hovhannes Avoyan said in a statement. “Similarly, PicsArt aims to become an experience for any creative-minded person in the world. With Argam’s help, we will continue to make great strides to get there.”

PicsArt has been downloaded roughly 250 million times. “The amount of engagement we have and the passion of our users drew me into PicsArt, as well as Hovhannes’ passion for the company,” DerHartunian said in a phone interview. “It fills the white space that’s outside of the selfie or sharing a news article, something more purpose-based, creative-based.”

“PicsArt has the potential to become a household name,” he added.

PicsArt, which was founded in Armenia, first launched on Android in 2012 and on iOS in 2014. The company was profitable when it first started raising funding. The app makes revenue from a combination of advertisements and sponsored contests, as well as through in-app purchases such as special font and image packages.

Avoyan said he was inspired to build the app after repeatedly seeing his young daughter, who loves to draw, resort to sketching on napkins at restaurants. His goal was to create a community that was welcoming to anyone.

PicsArt was among the top 10 most popular free apps in Apple’s App Store in 2014 and 2015. This year, it has remained among the top 20 U.S. photo and video apps by downloads, according to app analytics firm App Annie.

“If you ask people, ‘Do you need another social network?’ they’ll probably say no,” DerHartunian said. “The opportunity really is defining how people consume creative works of art and making it something that people don’t even know that they want.”

Photo: Omega Auctions

 

An extremely rare and valuable Beatles record that was found languishing in a loft is to be auctioned next month, the reports.

Described as “a Holy Grail item”, the 1962 10-inch record of Till There Was You and Hello Little Girl lay forgotten in the home of Les Maguire for decades.

Maguire, the keyboardist in fellow Liverpool act Gerry and the Pacemakers, said it could be seen as the record “that sparked The Beatles’ success”.

The acetate bears the handwriting of the Fab Four’s manager Brian Epstein.

A conservative estimate is that the 78 RPM record – the first Beatles disc to be cut before the band broke through into the national charts in late 1962 – will fetch upwards of £10,000 when it is auctioned, although it is such a rare item it is difficult to predict what the sale price will be.

The record of Til There was You – labelled as being the work of “Paul McCartney & The Beatles” – was made at the HMV store in Oxford Street, London, and presented to future Beatles producer George Martin at the EMI record label in a bid to secure the band a recording contract.

Hello (misspelled by Epstein as “Hullo”) Little Girl, on the other side of the disc, was recorded as being the work of “John Lennon & The Beatles”.

Maguire, 74, of Formby, Merseyside, was given the disc by Epstein in 1963 after it had been returned to him by Martin.

Photo: Reuters

 

The Syrian government and the main opposition umbrella groups say they accept the terms of a deal to cease hostilities from Saturday, the BBC reports.

The government said it would halt “combat operations” in line with the plan announced by the US and Russia.

But the opposition said its acceptance depended on government forces ending sieges and air strikes of civilians.

The deal will not apply to the two main jihadist groups in Syria, Islamic State (IS) and the rival al-Nusra Front.

Al-Nusra is an affiliate of al-Qaeda and forms part of a major rebel alliance.

Under the terms of the agreement announced by the US and Russia on Monday, the Syrian government and opposition were required to indicate by noon on Friday whether they would comply with the cessation of hostilities.

Asbarez – Award winning pianist Sergei Babayan will perform in recital as part of the Philip Lorenz Memorial Keyboard Concert Series at Fresno State. The performance will take place at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, March 9 in the Concert Hall on the Fresno State campus.

The concert is co-sponsored by the Armenian Studies Program of Fresno State. Babayan will be performing works by Schumann, Liszt, Rachmaninoff, and Brahms.

Acclaimed for the immediacy, sensitivity, and depth of his interpretations, Babayan’s performances reveal an emotional intensity and bold energy, equipping him to excel in repertoire ranging from Rameau to Ligeti. Winner of the 1989 Robert Casadesus International Piano Competition in Cleveland, this Armenian pianist returns to Fresno for another display of his “unequaled touch, perfectly harmonious phrasing and breathtaking virtuosity” (Le Figaro, Paris).

One of the most charismatic personalities on today’s concert stage, Babayan’s vibrantly expressive performances have spirited audience acclaim worldwide. Ever since his arrival in the United States, on his first trip outside of the Soviet Union in 1989, his breathtaking virtuosity and a wide- ranging tonal palette have brought him critical praise and accolades.

Babayan was born in Armenia to a musical family and started to play the piano at the age of three. He began his musical studies at the age of six under Luisa Markaryan and later with George Saradjev. He continued his studies at nineteen with Mikhail Pletnev at the Moscow Conservatory and completed post-graduate work there in 1989 as a student of Professor Vera Gornostaeva. He also studied privately with Lev Naumov in Moscow.

After making his New York recital debut in 1990 at Alice Tully Hall to great critical acclaim, Babayan embarked on a busy schedule that has included solo appearances with The Cleveland Orchestra, the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Osaka Symphony, among others.

General tickets for the Concert are available for $25 per person, for seniors tickets are $18, and tickets for students are $5.00 per person. Ticket reservations for the concert may be made by calling 559-278-2337.

Parking will be available in Lot P1 (Shaw and Maple entrance to campus). For more information please contact the Armenian Studies Program at 278-2669 or visit fresnostate.edu/armenianstudies.

The Concert is supported by The Thomas A. Kooyumjian Family Foundation, The Ararat Foundation of Alexandria, Virginia, Grace Jelalian Shahinian Armenian Concerts Fund, and the Leon S. Peters Foundation.

Photo/Getty Images

 

Actor George Clooney and his lawyer wife Amal have had a private meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel to discuss the crisis in Syria and Europe’s efforts to help refugees, the Associated Press reports.

The actor, who is currently attending the Berlin Film Festival to showcase his new movie “Hail, Caesar,” was accompanied to the 40-minute meeting Friday by David Miliband, the former British foreign secretary who now heads the International Rescue Committee.

Miliband said afterward that they had discussed what countries around the world can do to solve “what is a global problem, not just a Syrian problem or a German issue.”

He praised Merkel for “showing very strong leadership and example not just to Europe but globally” during the refugee crisis.

PHOTO: REUTERS/JANINE COSTA

 

Turkey’s patience may run out over the crisis in Syria and it could be forced to take action, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday, calling on the United Nations to do more to prevent what he said was “ethnic cleansing” in the country, Reuters reports.

Erdogan accused the United Nations of insincerity in calling on Turkey to do more to help Syrian refugees instead of taking action to prevent the bloodshed in its southern neighbor.

“There is a chance the new wave of refugees will reach 600,000 if air strikes continue. We are making preparations for it,” Erdogan said in a speech to a business forum in Ankara.

“We will show patience up to a point and then we’ll do what’s necessary. Our buses and planes are not waiting there in vain,” he said, adding that Turkey had information that Iran-backed forces in Syria were carrying out “merciless massacres”.

Turkey, already home to more than 2.6 million Syrian refugees, has long pushed for the creation of a safe zone in northern Syria to protect displaced civilians without bringing them over the border into Turkey.

The proposal has so far gained little traction with Washington or NATO allies who fear it would require an internationally patrolled no-fly zone which could put them in direct confrontation with Assad and his allies.

Erdogan said the Syrian crisis could not be resolved without safe zones, and said that ways of keeping Syrians in their country needed to be sought.

He also said he had previously told the European Union’s two top officials, Jean-Claude Juncker and Donald Tusk, that the time could come when Turkey would open the gates for migrants to travel to Europe.

“In the past we have stopped people at the gates to Europe, in Edirne we stopped their buses. This happens once or twice, and then we’ll open the gates and wish them a safe journey, that’s what I said,” he said on Thursday.

A Greek news website said on Monday that Erdogan, in a meeting in November with Juncker and Tusk, had threatened to flood Europe with migrants if EU leaders did not offer a better deal to help Turkey manage the refugee crisis.

On 11 February Artsakh Republic President Bako Sahakyan received defense minister of the Republic of Armenia Seyran Ohanyan, Central Information Department of the Office of the NKR President reported.

A number of issues related to army building and cooperation between the two Armenian states in this sphere were discussed during the meeting.

NKR Defense Minister Levon Mnatsakanyan was present at the meeting.

Photo: AP

 

Italian hospitality for the visiting Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has stretched to covering up nude statues, the BBC reports.

Mr Rouhani and Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi spoke at Rome’s Capitoline Museum after Italian firms signed business deals with Iran.

But several nudes there were hidden to avoid offending the Iranian president.

Italy also chose not to serve wine at official meals, a gesture France, where Mr Rouhani travels next, has refused to copy.

An Islamic republic, Iran has strict laws governing the consumption of alcohol.

Mr Rouhani is in Europe on a five-day tour seeking to boost economic ties after the implementation of a deal on rolling back Iran’s nuclear activity saw sanctions lifted.

 

Pedro Agramunt, a Spanish lawmaker and the chairman of the European People’s Party at the Council of Europe (EPP-CD) Group, will replace Luxembourgian lawmaker Anne Brasseur as the president of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

The President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe is elected for one year by majority of votes and can be reelected once.

Last year he was the rapporteur on the functioning of democratic institutions in Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan’s human rights organizations accuse him of bias.

He is also listed among those involved in “caviar diplomacy.”

Reported from Strasbourg by Aghavni Harutyunyan

On 15 January Artsakh Republic President Bako Sahakyan partook at the meeting of the Defense Army’s Military Council dedicated to summing up the results of 2015 and the 2016 action plan, NKR Presidents’ Press Office reports.

In his speech the President touched upon the process of army building, outlined the accomplishments and existing problems. The President evaluated satisfactory the activities implemented in 2015.

Bako Sahakyan qualified geopolitical situation in the region and the world as a complicated and tense one, which generated new tasks of strategic nature.

The President highlighted that the Defense Army had always been and would remain the most important guarantor of independence, security and natural development of the Artsakh Republic, fulfilling its high mission with utmost responsibility under any conditions.

The Head of the State gave concrete instructions to the defense minister and the supreme command staff of the Defense Army towards solving on a proper level the issues the Armed Forces faced.

The Republic of Armenia defense minister of Seyran Ohanyan, head of the General Staff of the RA Armed forces, colonel-general Yuri Khachaturov and other officials partook at the consultation.