The Dilijan Arts Observatory, an arts project supported by philanthropists Ruben Vardanyan and Veronika Zonabend will be launched on 22 August in and around the ancient Armenian spa town of Dilijan, The Art Newspaper reports. The project aims to encourage a cross-pollination of disciplines by inviting artists, designers, cultural historians and environmental scientists to convene for three weeks.
The initiative intends to inspire the cultural and economic development of Armenia, amid growing concerns over unemployment and emigration. The participants, a third of which are expected to be Armenian, will each present their research on the cultural and scientific landscape of the country at a public event on 10 and 11 September. The event will include an ‘all-night symphony, food tasting, performances and exhibitions.’
The Dilijan Arts Observatory also plans to hold a second event in a similar vein which would culminate in exhibitions at Hamburger Bahnhof, Berlin (November 2017) and the Centre Pompidou, Paris (Summer 2018).
The former director of the Weltkulturen Museum in Frankfurt am Main, and curator of this project Clémentine Deliss has said: ‘We didn’t want to create a biennial or put pressure on artists to produce works in three weeks, but we didn’t want it to be a purely discursive summit either’.
11 Aug 2016
