It so happens that in my stories I mostly write about people who have made a permanent move to Armenia, found their own place here, built a home, raised their children, and established their work and daily lives. But I believe it is equally important to tell the stories of those for whom Armenia may not be their final destination—at least not yet—but is still a place where they want to invest their skills and experience, and a country they want to connect with another through a “bridge” that can create new opportunities for Armenia’s development.
 

From an Armenian school to the world of contemporary art in Iran
 

Today’s protagonist, Michel Allahverdian, is originally from Tehran. He received his education and established himself professionally there, and for the past several years he has been working to strengthen a cultural bridge between Iran and Armenia.
 

Michel is an art historian, curator, and Deputy Director for International Relations at the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art. He is also Director of the Marcos Grigorian Foundation, as well as a translator and journalist.
 

“Until the age of 14, I studied at an Armenian school. Then I attended the Tehran School of Fine Arts and later enrolled at the University of Art. I think this played an important role in my life as an Iranian Armenian: I was the only Armenian at the university in a country where the Armenian population is around 23,000–28,000. There was a time when as many as 600,000 Armenians lived in New Julfa, but many left the country after the Islamic Revolution. Those who remained generally tried to avoid working within the state system, while after graduating from university, I began working at a state museum.
 

Of course, Iran has changed enormously. It is difficult to compare today’s Iran with the country of 30 or 40 years ago. More than 30 million members of Generation Z now live and work in Iran, and they are the ones who will determine how the country develops,” Michel begins.
 

Working at the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art and a mission to introduce Iranian-Armenian art
 

Michel was still a student when he began collaborating with the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art. His lecturers and professors at the university told him that he had strong abilities and, therefore, a rare opportunity to introduce Iranians to the work of Iranian-Armenian artists dating back to the era of Shah Abbas. Many of those who encouraged him to pursue this path were either friends or students of Marcos Grigorian, the Iranian-Armenian artist who was one of the founders of modern art in Iran. Their encouragement was gratifying, but it also came with a sense of responsibility. As Michel developed professionally, he realized that he had a particular mission: to introduce the work of his compatriots to Iranians, especially to younger generations.
 

“I now lecture at the university where I studied and am probably one of its youngest lecturers. Iranians are very interested in these lectures because almost every Iranian family has some memory or story connected with Armenians. People from completely different professional backgrounds attend my lectures. Perhaps that was also one of the reasons I wanted to do the same kind of work in Yerevan.”
 

Continuing the mission in Yerevan and building new collaborations
 

Michel has been visiting Yerevan since childhood, and as he grew older, he began to notice the positive changes taking place in the capital. At the same time, he also saw certain gaps—for example, the lack of awareness about Armenian artists from Iran. Even the name of Marcos Grigorian meant little to many people. That was when Michel decided to launch projects in Armenia presenting artists from Iran and other Diaspora communities. Still, most of his work focuses on Iranian-Armenian artists, to whom he naturally feels a stronger emotional connection.
 

“In 2018, when the revolution took place, we thought many things would change. Then came the war... I arrived in 2021 and realized that despite the low morale among people, life in Yerevan was continuing and projects could still be developed. I began establishing contacts with museums, including the Martiros Saryan House-Museum. Saryan spent several months in Iran, and there are written records from that period of his life, which I translated from Armenian into Persian. When I met with the museum director, I showed the translations and proposed organizing an exhibition both in Yerevan and in Tehran. The process is still dragging on. They say there is no funding, so I am trying to find the necessary resources myself. In Tehran, I spend much less time searching for funding. There, they do not simply say there is no money—they usually allocate at least some portion of the required amount,” Michel says.
 

Despite the difficulties of securing funding for projects, Michel continues to look for opportunities to collaborate with institutions in Yerevan. In 2023, for example, he had a successful collaboration with the History Museum of Armenia, which holds a large collection of historical Persian objects, as well as with the Institute of Contemporary Art in Yerevan, which Michel describes as one of Armenia’s most institutionally developed art centers. In cooperation with the Institute, Michel Allahverdian is preparing a series of lectures devoted to Iranian-Armenian artists.
 

Michel admits that Iranian-Armenian artists are poorly known—or not known at all—not only in Armenia but also in Iran. In fact, most visitors to the lectures and exhibitions dedicated to these artists are Iranian.
 

“Nine years ago, on my initiative, an exhibition of works by Iranian-Armenian artists opened at the Ararat Armenian organization in Tehran. Many of these artists helped shape the history of modern art in Iran. During the Shah’s era, for example, Marcos Grigorian would go to the Ministry of Culture and request funding to organize exhibitions. Today, that sounds almost unimaginable. Not because cooperation with state institutions is impossible, but because after the revolution Armenians began to avoid it because the country had become an Islamic republic. I chose the path of cooperation and development,” Michel says.
 

The exhibition marking the 100th anniversary of Marcos Grigorian in Tehran—and the unsuccessful attempt to bring it to Yerevan
 

It was thanks to this approach that an exhibition dedicated to the 100th anniversary of Marcos Grigorian was held last year at the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art, organized by Michel Allahverdian. Over the course of two months, the exhibition attracted 70,000 visitors, and Iran’s Minister of Culture attended the opening.
 

“The Marcos Grigorian Foundation has been operating for two years now. We wanted to do something significant in Yerevan for his 100th anniversary and present his works here, but in my opinion, Armenia’s Ministry of Culture made the wrong decision by allocating space for the exhibition at the Museum of the Middle East. The building has internal problems, and because of them we still have not been able to hold the exhibition. For 18 years, no funding has been allocated to improve the area where Marcos Grigorian is buried...”
 

Upcoming projects
 

Among the future projects Michel is already working on is an exhibition of contemporary Armenian art at the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art. According to Michel, the idea was proposed to him in Iran, where there is considerable interest in what is happening in neighboring Armenia. Thanks in part to Michel’s efforts, a growing number of collectors from Iran have also visited Armenia in recent years.
 

“They come because I introduce Armenia to them. Artists living in Armenia also know almost nothing about what is happening in Iran’s art scene. That is why, whenever I meet people in Yerevan, I encourage them to visit Iran and see how things are developing despite the wars. Curators and artists have already visited, and I hope we will soon sign a cooperation agreement between our museum and the National Gallery of Armenia. The war makes things more difficult, but I try to maintain a balance,” Michel explains.
 

Gaps in Armenia’s art sector
 

Speaking about his experience in both Iran and Armenia, Michel admits that although he has taken on the mission of presenting Armenian art in Iran and Iranian art in Armenia, he sometimes doubts whether it will be possible to implement projects of the same scale in Armenia. The opportunities are very different. For example, it is extremely difficult to find a suitable large-scale venue for a major exhibition. More broadly, Armenia lacks galleries where artworks can be exhibited for sale, as well as auctions and a developed art market.
 

“More than 30 years have passed since independence—how is it possible that there has not been a single auction during all this time? Look at Georgia: it is also a young country, but it supports artists and organizes an Art Fair. If Armenia had something similar, imagine how many people would want to come here. Solving this problem does not require enormous amounts of money.”
 

Don’t live in your own bubble
 

Michel believes that one of the keys to addressing this and many other challenges is not to live in your own bubble. This applies to both personal and professional life. Every time he comes to Armenia, regardless of the circumstances, he meets new people, shares his experience, and looks for opportunities to build new collaborations. He believes that doing the opposite is one of the reasons why many people who move to Armenia never fully integrate and eventually leave—or continue living within their own isolated circle.
 

“Try to bring to Armenia all the good things you experienced in the place where you used to live. Bring them here, nurture them, and help them grow. And never burn your bridges. When I am in Armenia, I follow the news from Iran; when I am in Iran, I follow the news from Armenia. Many people come here and cut those ties, even though those very connections can become an important source of support for building a life here.”
 

Interview by Nare Bejanyan

Translation via AI based on the original article in Russian:  Строя культурные мосты между Арменией и Ираном. Мишель Алавердян