Yerevan/Mediamax/. The Armenian Arts Council (AAC) launched today the first edition of STANDART, the Triennial of Contemporary Art in Armenia, in special partnership with the Ministry of Culture of Armenia, ART for The World, The Embassy of Switzerland, Armenia Art Foundation and other private partners and supporters.

The Triennial will be held in Armenia from July to December 2017.

STANDART, the Triennial of Contemporary Art, is a periodic exhibition which will develop specific itineraries throughout Armenia based on the particular theme of the given exhibition.

The name of the Triennial is inspired by the avant-garde Armenian magazine Standard, published in 1924. STANDART highlights the rich cultural and historical context of Armenia. Through its itinerant character it involves wider and diverse communities and creates opportunities for dialogue and interactive relationship between artists, writers, curators, scientists, local communities, and visitors.

Photo: Photolure

For the first edition of STANDART, the board of AAC has appointed as Chief Curator Adelina Cuberyan von Furstenberg. Adelina served as curator of the Golden Lion Award-winning National Pavilion of Armenia at the 56th edition of La Biennale di Venezia in 2015.

Inspired by the unfinished novel The Mount Analogue, by the French surrealist writer and poet Rene Daumal (1908 - 1944), STANDART 2017 will take place in various locations across the Mount Ararat region.

As a symbol of a poetic research and temporary experience, The Mount Analogue is a meditation on the pursuit of knowledge – based on the concept that the essence of a creative mind is directly related to who one is and what one experiences.

In the spirit of sustainable development and participation, STANDART, the Triennial of Contemporary Art, aims to build a bridge between the specific venues and the artworks presented and create an interactive dialogue with the participating artists and curators coming from different backgrounds. It also seeks to develop exchanges and collaborations with Armenia’s lively art and cultural scene.

Photo: Triennial of Contemporary Art in Armenia

The result of this art experience-placed within the context of some of the unique historic and cultural sites in the Mount Ararat region-will be a series of art exhibitions, encounters and direct collaborations, site-specific works and performances by the participating artists with artists living in Armenia. A website will also be produced that includes a travelogue with images. Finally, a book with artist contributions and texts by specialists from various fields offering a pluralistic approach to the theme of the Mount Analogue will be published in September.

1ST PART: OPENINGS ON JULY 20-22, 2017

Yerevan

- GASPAR GASPARIAN (1899–1966) Distant Fragments, a retrospective of the modernist Brazilian photographer at AGBU, 2/2 Melik Adamyan St., curated by Ruben Arevshatyan.

-ILYA AND EMILIA KABAKOV (Russia/USA), 20 Ways to get an Apple listening to the Music of Mozart and Concert for a Fly at Hay-Art Cultural Center, 7a M. Mashtots Ave, former municipal Museum of Modern Art. During the opening, a live concert by the students of the Tchaikovsky Special Music School of Yerevan will be performed.

Photo: Triennial of Contemporary Art in Armenia

Gyumri

- Artworks, performances and workshops will be created in collaboration with the art community of Gyumri by AYREEN ANASTAS & RENE GABRI (Palestine/Iran/USA/Armenia), RICCARDO ARENA (Italy), BENJI BOYADGIAN (Finland/Palestine), GIUSEPPE CACCAVALE (France/Italy), MARTA DELL’ANGELO (Italy), THIBAULT DE GIALLULY (France), ALEKSEY MANUKYAN (Armenia), MIKAYEL OHANJANYAN (Armenia/Italy), GOHAR SMOYAN (Armenia) and MARIA TSAGKARI (Greece) among others, at the Museum of National Architecture and Urban Life and at the Sergey Merkurov Museum , 47 Haghtanaki Ave.

- A curatorial collaboration with the artist Vahagn Ghukasyan will be held at the Museum of Aslamazyan Sisters, 242 Abovyan St., where a selection of the works of the two sisters will interface with a selection of works by GOHAR MARTIROSYAN (Armenia), and ROSANA PALAZYAN (Brazil), among others and short movies produced by ART for The World including MURALI NAIR (India), IDRISSA OUEDRAOGO (Burkina Faso), JAFAR PANAHI (Iran), and JIA ZHANG-KE (China).

2ND PART: OPENINGS SEPTEMBER 12-13 -14, 2017

Erebuni (Yerevan)

- FELICE VARINI (Switzerland), site-specific installation at the Central Railway Station, organized by the Embassy of Switzerland in Armenia.

Photo: Photolure

Sevan Lake

- Deja vu STANDARD, video installations by GERARD BYRNE (Ireland), JOSEF DABERNIG (Austria) and IGOR GRUBIC (Croatia) and MARKUS SCHERER (Austria) and architectural projects by LEVON CHERKEZYAN, GEVORG KOCHAR and MIKAEL MAZMANYAN at Writers’ Resort, curated by Ruben Arevshatyan.

FROM JULY TO DECEMBER 2017

Yerevan, Gyumri, Kapan

- ARTLABYEREVAN, AYREEN ANASTAS & RENE GABRI, ARMAN GRIGORYAN, PIRUZA KHALAPYAN, GOHAR SMOYAN, MIKA VATINYAN, grantees of the Armenia Art Foundation’s first Open Call for Artists in the 2017, present their projects between July and December in different sites and cities of Armenia.