Fragile carriers of collective memory

Armenian artists from all over the world come together at the Maxim Gorki Theater in Berlin: The cultural festival 100 + 10 – Armenian Allegories offers a comprehensive program of art, music, readings, theater and film. From April 24 to May 31, Armenian creatives will present their perspectives on the present, shaped by the past 110 years since the Armenian genocide in 1915. The festival, which serves as the prelude to the 7th Berlin Autumn Salon RE-IMAGINE!, opens on April 24 with the guest performance The Bird of a Thousand Voices, in which jazz pianist Tigran Hamasyan reinterprets an Armenian fairy tale.

Part of the festival is the art exhibition Future Imperfect: Armenian Art from Aftermaths, in which Ani Ba (Ani Barseghyan) (*1991) from the Art.Salon artist program is also taking part. The Armenian artist studied in Yerevan and Mainz and now lives in Frankfurt am Main. Ani Ba has been working intensively with the Armenian flatbread Lavash as a material for several years. The different-colored breads, which she sources from Armenia, serve as carriers of cultural knowledge and collective memories. In her artworks and performances, Ani Ba draws attention to the individuality of cultural practices and encourages us to examine rituals for their suitability for the future and to preserve them appropriately. In some of her works, such as her sculptural books made of lavash, the artist refers directly to the genocide and the lost cultural heritage.