Category: Membership

CULTURAL MISAPPROPRIATION: THE THREAT TO ARMENIAN TEXTILE ARTS

7/4/2019

The Armenian Rugs Society has been nurturing Armenian woven arts culture among academics and artisans alike, worldwide, for nearly 40 years and continues to support Armenian woven arts internationally through a number of programs, symposia, lectures, and exhibitions that aim to build textile arts communities and consciousness in Armenia and around the world.

Armenian woven arts traditions have been passed from generation to generation for thousands of years by highly skilled artisans who have produced stunning works of staggering beauty. Fortunately, Armenian millennial woven arts culture has continued to flourish over these many years despite the manifold life-threatening obstacles it has faced.

However, and unfortunately, its detractors and their attempts at destroying Armenian arts have grown, as well.

The governments of Turkey and Azerbaijan continue to eradicate Armenian monuments, architectural sites, churches, monasteries, and precious cross-stones whenever they are able. And, when they are unable to physically decimate indigenous Armenian high arts, they attempt to appropriate these works and purposefully distort their provenance in an attempt to rewrite the world’s historical record.

The Turkish and Azeri states have not only engaged in genocide, but continue to attempt to strip the survivors of genocide, and their progeny, of any and all cultural meaning, memory, and motifs that have somehow survived and, indeed, form the fundament of Armenian cultural identity.

These callous forces that continue to lay siege to world heritage sites, traditions, and artifacts are in fact laying siege to world culture, to Armenian culture, and to every Armenian and global citizen whose roots can be found in every hand woven double-knot, made by the graceful hands of true artisans.

Private sector groups and individuals, supported by official Azerbaijan and Turkey, have unleashed an aggressive attack against Armenian culture, backed by billions of petro-dollars and pseudo-intellectuals willing to distort truth for monetary gain. They continue to publish books, catalogs, and academic papers, sponsor conferences with lavish accommodations and entertainment, and create front organizations in their own countries and across Europe, in an attempt to erroneously claim Armenian woven arts traditions, Armenian carpets and rugs, Armenian embroidery, Armenian artifacts, and Armenian culture as their own.

This unabashed falsification of history and cultural capital not only strikes at the heart and soul of Armenian cultural identity, but is a harsh blow to the international arts community and to woven arts scholarship in general, putting in serious danger whole academic disciplines and bodies of work.

In essence, these interlopers are attempting to convince the world that Armenians did not exist for millennia in the lands of their ancestors and that they are not the authors of traditions that not only demarcate Armenian cultural identity, but traditions with which world heritage and the arts have so strongly been influenced.

To leave the victims of genocide bereft of all meaning, tradition, and identity, to which they cling so dearly, is to deny their very existence and is the final, and most horrendous, stage of genocide.

It is an attempted "final blow" to the survivors of genocide and their progeny, to say they did not exist, that they never created these works, that these glorious traditions are not Armenian.

The Armenian Rugs Society has never worked alone and cannot work without your help, especially now, when so much is at stake...

We need your help and the help of every individual who comprehends the severity of this onslaught and its untold horrific consequences not only for Armenians, but also for all people.

We need your help to continue fostering a climate of inquiry, curiosity, and awareness among the next generation and society at large, regarding the world of Armenian woven arts, while preserving and nurturing a growing global awareness of Armenian rugs and sacred symbolism in every sphere.

You can become a part of this great effort by continuing to be well-informed, vigilant, and active in appreciating and furthering Armenian woven arts and textile culture.

We invite you to join the Armenian Rugs Society today and become part of a growing global community of scholars, artists, collectors, and organizations passionate about the fascinating and sublime world of Armenian textile arts.

Your generous donations and support go a long way in helping us protect and nurture our precious woven arts, artisans, and age-old traditions.

Thank you for continuing to support the Armenian Rugs Society and the cause of Armenian culture...!

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HOLIDAY MESSAGE

12/30/2018

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A whole new era for Armenia and Armenian Culture has clearly begun and it doesn’t look like it’s slowing down anytime soon. And, that includes the new energy and sense of discovery that is sweeping over the Armenian woven and textile arts world...

From Yerevan to Los Angeles and from Shushi to San Francisco artisans, academics, aficionados, and arts activists of all stripes and hues are flocking to the creation and appreciation of Armenian textile arts with renewed interest, passion, and curiosity.

The Armenian Rugs Society finds itself--very happily--still, at the forefront of this cultural renewal and activism, paving the way for a new generation of Armenian artisans and scholars to take their mantle into the future.

And, in this regard, the Society continues to offer support to museums, academic institutions, and arts organizations in Armenia, Europe, and the US, by sponsoring exhibitions, workshops, symposia, and lectures, both in public and private venues, including this year’s monumental Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington D.C.

The Society not only nurtures the discovery and cultivation of Armenian woven culture among academics and enthusiasts alike, but continues supporting Armenian woven arts and its artisans world-wide through a number of programs including its Adopt-a-Loom initiative, that aim to engender support for indigenous traditions by building textile arts communities in Armenia and around the world.

However, the Society has never worked alone and cannot work without your support, especially now.

The Armenian Rugs Society is a non-profit organization founded in Washington D.C., in 1980, and, as such, depends on the donations of its members and generous donors in order to continue its dedicated mission to the identification, preservation, documentation, and dissemination of the cultural contributions made by Armenian weavers and craftspeople to the rich and vibrant history of global textile arts.

Moreover, the Armenian Rugs Society needs your help to continue fostering a climate of inquiry, curiosity, and awareness among the next generation and society at large, regarding the world of Armenian woven arts, while preserving and nurturing a growing global awareness of Armenian rugs and sacred symbolism.

Anyone sharing an interest in the amazing world of Armenian woven arts traditions and their myriad manifestations, both ancient and modern, is cordially invited to be a part of the Armenian Rugs Society. Individual annual memberships are $50.00 (US), annual family memberships (two adults sharing the same address) are $75.00 (US), and corporate annual memberships begin at $150.00 (US). Each new member will receive a letter of acknowledgment, an Armenian Rugs Society membership card, timely email receipt of our Newsletters, and access to Society activities, as well as a surprise gift from the Armenian Rugs Society.

The Armenian Rugs Society seeks to provide its membership, and the community at large, with the most current, accurate, and incisive, information and findings regarding a global cultural tradition rich in its past and vibrant in its present growth. Armenian Rugs Society projects and initiatives continue to help in creating new scholarly standards and opening-up new areas of study both within the Armenian woven arts arena and historical scholarship, in general.

Be a vibrant part of this noble effort and join with us to bring both new academic verve and healing creativity through this ancient art form to a modern world in dire need of its curative energy...

Your membership dues and generous donations go a long way in helping to support all our activities...

Please visit our website at armenianrugssociety.org and become a member via our easy to use MEMBERSHIP or CONTACT pages, or via our e-mail, info@armenianrugssociety.org, with the hashtag #membership in the comment section or subject line.

Donations and membership fees may be made via check or money order to THE ARMENIAN RUGS SOCIETY P.O Box 21104 GLENDALE, CA 91201 or via our Pay Pal account links conveniently located on our MEMBERSHIP page, as well as throughout the site via our DONATE buttons.

We look forward to collaborating with you and a growing community of scholars, artists, collectors, and organizations passionate about the fascinating world of Armenian textile arts.

Sincerely and with Warm Regards,
Hratch Kozibeyokian
President, Board of Directors
The Armenian Rugs Society

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ARMENIAN RUGS SOCIETY

CULTURAL MISAPPROPRIATION: THE THREAT TO ARMENIAN TEXTILE ARTS

HOLIDAY MESSAGE

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