The project What Does the Photograph Tell Us has been developed for highschool students. The aim of the project is, through photographs, to help them connect to their personal experiences, intergenerational memories, and the historical past. In focus is the community with its material, architectural, socio-historical and cultural specificities.
The group composed of students from the community (approx. 10-16 children) participate in summer courses that last 8-10 weeks and conduct individual research projects. They participate in seminar sessions, meetings and discussions. Practical and theoretical courses include the following fields: photography, cultural studies, art history, artistic practice, verbal and written communication. The starting point for research are family albums and personal photographs of their grandparents. The photographs chosen by students and teachers are subjected to thematization and students carry out research according to thematic divisions. They conduct interviews with those connected to the photographs, as well collect stories and material objects. Based on these materials and according to the research theme, students thereafter produce creative work and organize an exhibition led by the project curator. The exhibition takes place in a community center, be it a gallery, a museum, cultural house, library or another institution.
At the end of the program the participants receive certificates. A visit to Yerevan is organized during which they have a chance to attend cultural institutions, photo studios and exhibitions as well as get to know the city and visit the Johannissyan Institute.
In 2022 the project was successfully implemented in the town of Yeghegnadzor in the Vayots Dzor region. The participants of the project were 15-16 year old students from the town of Yeghegnadzor and the village of Malishka. In April-November they participated in courses lead by photographer-documentarist Nazik Armenakyan, ethnographer Gayane Shagoyan, art historians Sona Hovhannissyan and Vardan Azatyan, artist Gor Engoyan, and choreographer Hasmik Tangyan. Led by curator Armenak Grigoryan, the students organized an exhibition based on their own research projects.
The project was carried out with the financial support of Avedis Davidian and in collaboration with the library of Vayots Dzor and the Yeghegnadzor Gallery.
Leader of the project Hermine Stepanyan