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In 2026, the Armenian Revolutionary Federation Sebouh Gomideh proudly marked 100 years of service to the Armenian community of Washington DC, Maryland, and Virginia. For a full century, the Sebouh Gomideh has stood as a pillar of organized Armenian communal life in the Greater Washington area, dedicated to preserving Armenian identity, advancing the Armenian Cause, strengthening community institutions, and preparing future generations for lives of service, leadership, and national commitment.

The Armenian Revolutionary Federation, founded in 1890 in Tiflis (now Tbilisi, Georgia), is one of the most significant and influential Armenian political organizations worldwide. Established to defend the rights of Armenians and to fight for freedom and self-determination, the ARF played a historic role in the Armenian national liberation movement and the defense of the Armenian people.

In Washington DC, the ARF chapter became known as the Sebouh Gomideh, named in honor of Commander Sebouh (Arshak Nersesian), one of the most respected leaders of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Known for his courage, leadership, and unwavering dedication to the Armenian people, Commander Sebouh embodied the spirit of sacrifice and resilience that continues to define the Gomideh today.

Established in 1926, the Sebouh Gomideh has faithfully served the Armenian-American community of the region for generations. Over the past century, it has remained deeply committed to community building and to Hai Tahd (the Armenian Cause). Its work has included advocacy for the recognition of the Armenian Genocide, efforts to strengthen U.S.–Armenia relations, and steadfast support for Armenia and Artsakh. Through demonstrations, commemorations, educational initiatives, and community engagement, the Gomideh has consistently raised awareness of Armenian issues while strengthening the voice of the Armenian-American community.

At the same time, the Gomideh has helped cultivate a vibrant Armenian communal life rooted not only in political advocacy, but also in faith, culture, youth development, education, and service.

A defining strength of the Sebouh Gomideh has always been its close partnership with its sister and allied organizations, each of which play a vital role in sustaining Armenian communal life. Together, these organizations form the backbone of the Armenian community in the Greater Washington region.

Among them is the Armenian Relief Society Satenig DC Chapter, whose humanitarian and social service mission has long addressed the needs of Armenians in the homeland and throughout the diaspora. Through charitable initiatives, family support, and programs that empower women and strengthen communities, the ARS has been an indispensable force for compassion and solidarity.

Homenetmen DC, the Armenian athletic and scouting organization, has shaped generations of youth through athletics, discipline, teamwork, leadership, and service. Its programs have instilled pride, resilience, and a strong sense of Armenian identity among countless young members of the community.

Hamazkayin DC, the Armenian educational and cultural organization, has played a vital role in preserving and promoting Armenian heritage through literature, music, theater, and the arts. Through cultural events and educational initiatives, Hamazkayin continues to nurture creativity while safeguarding Armenian cultural traditions across generations.

The Sebouh Gomideh also works with the Armenian Youth Federation DC Ani Seniors and Sevan Juniors, the youth organization of the ARF. Through educational seminars, athletic programs, cultural events, and activism, the AYF prepares the next generation of Armenian leaders while strengthening young Armenians’ connection to their heritage and community.

Likewise, the Armenian Youth Center of Greater Washington has emerged as a vital hub of Armenian communal life, providing a welcoming space for education, athletics, culture, and social connection for youth and families throughout the region.

The Armenian National Committee of America, the leading grassroots advocacy organization representing Armenian-American interests, has also remained a key partner in advancing Armenian policy priorities and mobilizing community engagement in pursuit of justice and national interests.

Together, the ARF and its sister and allied organizations have played an essential role in supporting the broader institutional life of the community – particularly its churches and schools. They have consistently supported Soorp Khatch Armenian Apostolic Church and St. Mary Armenian Church, recognizing the central role of the Church in preserving faith, identity, moral values, and communal unity.

They have likewise supported Armenian education through institutions such as Hamasdegh Armenian Sunday School, Shnorhali Armenian Sunday School, and the Baltimore Armenian School, understanding that Armenian schools are indispensable to the transmission of language, history, heritage, and national consciousness to younger generations.

Looking ahead, the Sebouh Gomideh remains firmly committed to continuing this noble mission for generations to come. While honoring a proud century of service, the organization looks forward with renewed energy and determination to strengthening Armenian identity, expanding community institutions, and deepening engagement among the next generation of Armenian-Americans.

Together with its sister and allied organizations, the Gomideh will continue to support Armenian churches, schools, youth programs, and cultural institutions while advocating for Armenian national interests and advancing the Armenian Cause.

As the ARF Sebouh Gomideh enters its second century of service, it invites members of the community, friends, and supporters of the Armenian Cause to remain engaged in the mission that has strengthened Armenian life in Greater Washington for generations.

The continued vitality of the Armenian community depends on the collective participation and support of its members. Those interested in learning more about the activities of the ARF Sebouh Gomideh, becoming involved in community initiatives, or supporting its work are encouraged to connect with the organization.

For inquiries or to get involved, please contact [email protected].

To support the ongoing work of the ARF Sebouh Gomideh and its community initiatives, please visit the ARF DC website.

Together, with the support of the community, the ARF Sebouh Gomideh looks forward to continuing its service to the Armenian people and the Armenian Cause for generations to come.

https://asbarez.com/washington-dc-arf-celebrates-100th-anniversary/?fbclid=IwY2xjawQzAr1leHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeO8pjDU6yu5Y6NzWQpOa0CCtjxGoXn8mKMGQnlgr2KcxWFwug-uRdrZ-0it4_aem__5nAmBLtUJ7jM2fz96tAcA

YEREVAN — Across Armenia, young people are increasingly stepping forward as leaders in their communities, launching local initiatives, exploring careers in science, and building networks that promote healthy lifestyles and civic engagement. Supporting this momentum, the H. Hovnanian Family Foundation has awarded $240,000 in grants to eight initiatives through its fourth-quarter 2025 Youth Empowerment Armenian grant cycle.

These projects will expand opportunities for youth across Armenia in three areas: science, sports and healthy lifestyles, and civic awareness and activism. 

“Interest in this grant cycle was strong. We are encouraged by the diversity of this round’s applicants and awardees, both in geographic representation and fields of focus,” said Anahit Hakobyan, (Grants) Program Manager at the H. Hovnanian Family Foundation. “The eight selected projects span across Armenia and cover activities from math and physics olympiads to GIS mapping, hiking, and civic preparedness.”

The PhysMath Friends Charitable Foundation will expand Armenia’s mathematics and physics Olympiad model to the regions. The project will revise Olympiad curricula, train eight regional instructors to help run newly established Olympiad clubs in Lori, Shirak, Kotayk, and Armavir. Approximately 180 high school students will gain access to advanced instruction and mentorship to prepare them for national and international competitions. 

Hyphen4 Lab will implement a seven-month mapping program in six communities, combining civic learning with practical digital and spatial skills. The project will train university students as fellows to work with TUMO students aged 12 to 18 conducting community mapping workshops. Together, participants will collect and refine open-access GIS datasets on infrastructure, public spaces, and other local assets, strengthening youth digital literacy while also supporting more informed local planning and dialogue with municipalities.

In Lori the Resilient Stepanavan Foundation will support the development of the Stepanavan Community Sports School, which currently serves 174 youth through wrestling, football, table tennis, boxing, and chess clubs, and will also reach additional participants through amateur volleyball, basketball and table tennis activities. The municipality will continue to cover core operational costs, including maintenance and coaches’ salaries, helping to ensure long-term sustainability.

Girls of Armenia Leadership Sports (GOALS) will carry out a one-year program for 250 girls aged 11 to 15 across 20 communities. Combining intercommunity sports activities with educational workshops, hybrid sessions, and self-guided learning materials, the program is designed to strengthen leadership, teamwork, confidence, and civic awareness. It will culminate in the GOALS Girls Summit in Yerevan in fall 2026, bringing together participants from across Armenia for a national event centered on learning, exchange, and inspiration.

The Boon Scientific-Cultural Foundation (BoonTV), through its project ‘Through the Mountains,’ will engage more than 50 young people aged 16 to 35 in five guided hikes to lesser-known mountain and nature sites in Tavush and Vayots Dzor. Participants will receive training in outdoor safety and skills, while also learning about healthy lifestyles, teamwork, environmental responsibility, and local communities. Implemented in partnership with Armenian Geographic, a five-episode documentary series will be produced for national broadcast and online distribution.

The Information and Education Development Network (INEDNET) will implement a program in 5 to 7 communities to help young people take a more active role in local governance. The project will train 15 to 20 youth leaders aged 16 to 30 through a seven-day residential program focused on designing community initiatives. With mentorship and municipal engagement, participants will refine their ideas and present them to the public for voting through participatory budgeting processes. 

In Vanadzor and surrounding communities the NGO Center will run a civic engagement program directly involving 60 young people aged 16 to 30. Through these workshops, simulation games and mentorships, participants will design and implement 20 youth-led community initiatives. A Youth Advisory Council attached to the Vanadzor Municipality will be established to contribute to the co-development of a local youth policy and five-year development plan, helping to institutionalize youth participation at the local level.

The Azatazen Educational NGO will expand its youth programming beyond Yerevan through an initiative serving 300 young people aged 15 to 20, mostly in the Lori region. The program will provide practical training in first aid, physical and emergency preparedness, outdoor safety, and civic responsibility. By focusing on hands-on knowledge and community resilience, the initiative will equip participants with concrete skills to support personal safety and broader civic preparedness.

Taken together, the selected projects reflect a broad understanding of youth empowerment: one that includes academic opportunities, healthy, active lifestyles, and meaningful participation in community life. While the eight projects differ in format and geography, all aim to equip young people with stronger skills, broader networks, and greater confidence to contribute to Armenia’s future.

Zadik Zadikian

BY ALEJANDRO JASSAN

VENICE — The Republic of Armenia presents The Studio, a solo project by artist Zadik Zadikian, for the Pavilion of the Republic of Armenia at the 61st International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia. The project is co-curated by legendary art dealer Tony Shafrazi, whose decades-long relationship and close collaboration with Zadikian shape the conceptual framework of the Pavilion, alongside Boston-based curator and cultural strategist Tina Chakarian, who has played a central role in advancing Armenia’s presence at La Biennale di Venezia since 2015 as Commissioner and Development Director of the Armenian Pavilion. On view from May 9 through November 22, the Pavilion reimagines the exhibition space as a living studio—an active site of production, transformation, and renewal that unfolds over the full duration of La Biennale di Venezia.

This presentation marks the continuation of Shafrazi and Zadikian’s decades-long collaboration, which began in the late 1970s with Zadikian’s first solo exhibition in Tehran at Shafrazi’s then-new eponymous gallery, just weeks before the fall of Iran’s ruling shah and on the cusp of the profound political and social transformations that would follow. At that time, a young Zadikian observed laborers carefully stacking clay bricks to dry in the open air at a facility nearly 200 miles from Tehran. “I was completely taken by the way they were making sculptures without knowing what they were doing,” he recalls. Ever since, the brick has become a central material and conceptual anchor in his work, continuing to inform Zadikian’s sustained engagement with repetition, labor, and the transformation of basic forms into complex structures.

In Venice, Zadikian will operate a fully functioning studio, in which objects—principally plaster bricks of varying scales and pigments—are formed, cast, and assembled by the artist and his studio assistants over the course of the exhibition. Each composite form is built by stacking multiple individual bricks of different sizes that remain separate and movable, allowing the arrangement to change and develop over time. This emphasis on repetition and physical presence places the project in dialogue with early modernist and post-Minimalist sculpture, recalling the work of Richard Serra, Sol LeWitt, and Carl Andre, and reflecting a shared inquiry by both Zadikian and Shafrazi into form and the experience of space.

Aptly titled “The Studio”, the installation invites visitors to witness and engage directly with Zadikian’s process and materials, allowing the work to unfold in real time. By making production visible, the project challenges the often ritualized and private conventions of the artist’s studio, reframing it instead as a site of openness, exchange, and collective labor. In this way, “The Studio” recalls the legacy of Pop Art’s factories and ateliers—most notably Andy Warhol’s Factory—while emphasizing sustained, hands-on production over spectacle. As critic Carlo McCormack observes, “’The Studio’, for Zadikian, is workroom, factory, and laboratory at once—a locus of constant production, invention, and reinvention, a place of infinite possibility where art is not simply what is made; it is the study of its creation, and what we make of it.”

Furthermore, Chakarian’s longstanding engagement with Armenia’s cultural infrastructure—both within the Republic and across its global diaspora—inflects the Pavilion with a broader commitment to visibility, continuity, and international dialogue. Since 2015, as Commissioner and Development Director of the Armenian Pavilion at La Biennale di Venezia, she has played a central role in shaping Armenia’s sustained presence on this global stage, overseeing curatorial development, institutional partnerships, and strategic fundraising efforts. Her work bridges generations of artists working in Yerevan and abroad, positioning Armenian contemporary art within an expansive transnational discourse while honoring its distinct historical and cultural narratives.

“The Studio” will be located within the Arsenale Militare, a vast complex of shipyards and armories that for over 900 years served as the heart of Venetian naval power. Over the course of La Biennale di Venezia, hundreds of plaster bricks will be cast, stacked, disassembled, and reassembled within the Pavilion, allowing the installation to evolve continuously through ongoing production. Here, process is neither theatricalized nor concealed. As McCormack states, “the act of making is not staged, but neither is it hidden.”

The Venice presentation follows Zadikian’s recent inclusion in a major group exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum, “Solid Gold” (November 16, 2024–July 6, 2025), where his work “Path to Nine” (2024) took the form of a luminous wall composed of 999 gold leaf–covered bars, extending his long-standing engagement with modularity, material transformation, and symbolic value.

Zadik Zadikian (b. 1948, Erevan, Soviet Armenia) has spent over five decades creating works that challenge both the materials and ideologies of contemporary art. A daring escape from the Soviet Union in his youth marked the beginning of an extraordinary journey, from his training under Benjamino Bufano to his longstanding friendship with Richard Serra. Zadikian’s work, particularly his exploration of gilded forms, has established him as one of the leading sculptors in the realm of contemporary alchemy. His pieces, often crafted from gold leaf, suggest a transcendence of time and place, pushing boundaries while creating worlds that seem to belong to another realm entirely.

Learn more about the exhibition at the 2026 Armenian Pavilion website.

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