At the beginning of February, an exhibition by artist Anahit Demerchyan, who had lived away from her homeland for many years, took place at the Narekatsi Art Union. For a quarter of a century, creativity was the thread that connected Anahit’s longing heart to Armenia, and it also became the solid foundation for “building” a new life in her homeland.
 

Film Industry, Creativity, Departure from Armenia
 

By education, Anahit is a film projectionist. For many years she worked in her field at the “Hayfilm” studio, later at Public Television as an assistant director, while also writing for several Yerevan publications—reports from film sets and interviews with artists.
 

“The years working at ‘Hayfilm’ left a deep impression on me. I especially remember Henrikh Malyan with great warmth. Once he stopped me in the corridor and asked why my eyes looked sad. Then he asked if I wrote. I told him I was writing a novel; he asked to read it and later insisted that I submit it to the ‘Garun’ journal. I followed his advice at the time, but didn’t carry it through to the end,” Anahit recalls.
 

Years later, the heroine fulfilled a big dream: she began working at Public Television and mastered the craft of directing. And then suddenly she started painting! As she admits, a night vision led her onto this creative path.
 

She had both solo and group exhibitions in Yerevan: the first took place in 1995 at the Yervand Kochar Museum, and the last at the Yeghishe Charents Museum.
 

Then came marriage in 2003 and a move to the United States, to Pasadena.
 

Longing for Armenia
 

“I lived in Pasadena for 22 years. Until 2010, I visited Armenia almost every year with my husband for a couple of months, then once more on my own, and after that the visits stopped. I missed Yerevan so much, Abovyan Street, I lacked communication with people, the sun…
 

I reflected my longing in my works: I painted a lot, I wrote, and through this creative process my love for Armenia stayed alive, which is why I never stopped creating,” the heroine admits.
 

The desire to return to her homeland always lived in Anahit’s heart, but she was afraid to say it out loud too often, afraid of hurting her husband—although he himself would tell her: “If something ever happens to me, return home.”
 

Life in the Homeland in New Colors
 

Six months ago, Anahit Demerchyan returned home. Much has changed — so much so that she had difficulty finding her own house. Yet even in these changes she feels comfortable; she can hardly believe she was gone for nearly a quarter of a century: “Sometimes it feels as if I never stopped living here, as if I just stepped away for a few minutes. I was never separated from Armenia — I took it with me and brought it back with me. It is also my creativity, which helped me all these years feel like a part of my own country, not a foreign land that never became my home.”
 

Anahit continues to create, thinks about a new exhibition, sings in a choir, and travels a lot: during her earlier years in Armenia she didn’t have the opportunity to truly explore it, and now she is discovering the country for herself and for her creative world. The heroine also hopes to find a job: at 65, she is ready to acquire new skills, including in the film industry, and to be a full member of Armenian society.
 

Interview by Nare Bejanyan

Translation via AI based on the original article in Russian:  «Я увезла с собой Армению и привезла ее обратно»: Анаит Демирчян