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

Dear Friends,
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The Armenian Rugs Society is proud to announce its new eco-friendly, digital newsletter (part of our effort towards paperless operations) and the opening of our new website at armenianrugssociety.org which went live in late April/early May of this year, as did so many things in the world of Armenian arts, culture, and social life.

Changes in the Homeland were followed by great new activities and events here in the US with our three-week long participation in the Smithsonian's Folklife Festival and its associated activities in Washington DC, a rugs exhibit and lecture during Armenia's first Independence Centennial celebration in Detroit, and continued work with our amazing colleagues in Armenia at the Folk Arts Hub Foundation​, and so much more...
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The Festival brought together Armenian woven arts and cultural artisans and performers from all over, especially from all parts of the Republic of Armenia, which included weavers, sculptors, stone carvers, culinary experts, singers, dancers, and Armenian heritage performers. I was honored to curate the Armenian woven arts/carpets portion of the festival which included master weavers from Armenia's Folk Arts Hub Foundation and Tufenkian Carpets, among others. We were able to interact with countless individuals (some estimates say close to one million...!) over the span of the festival's activities, bringing the rich culture of Armenian woven arts to a greater and very interested audience.

Prior to the festival's incredible outpouring of emotion and celebration, we also dealt with some challenges one of which is sadly ever-present in Armenian life, but reared its ugly head more audaciously, once again, in April. The Azeri government and allies began an international campaign, within the world press and international art circles, claiming age-old Armenian woven arts traditions and carpets were Azeri and part of so-called "Azeri culture." The Armenian Rugs Society rose to face this unmitigated criminal act head-on and, with the aid of a seasoned writer from within our community, issued a press release which echoed the truth throughout the Armenian and non-Armenian press, here and abroad.

Our age-old and, yet, so vibrant woven arts traditions continued to gain steam this year, not only here at the renowned Smithsonian, but in the Homeland where it matters most. New generations of Armenian artists and artisans, academics and experts have taken up both the cause of Armenian woven arts, as well as the weaver's loom. The Armenian Folk Arts Hub Foundation in Yerevan,  in conjunction with the Armenian Rugs Society, continues to raise the bar when it comes to transmitting our cultural traditions to new generations of artisans via our well-known (and well-received) Adopt-a-Loom initiative throughout rural Armenia. 

​In accordance with our commitment to transmitting our heritage to a new generation and serving our community in the cause of our culture, the Armenian Rugs Society is now initiating an internship program wherein interested individuals--high school, college and university students, as well as others--will have an opportunity to help a registered non-profit in its daily endeavors and, most importantly, work and learn in an environment of ever growing beauty and historical significance. Besides the unparalleled experience of working with the Armenian Rugs Society, all interns will also be earning volunteer, work experience, and community service credits.

Please contact us via our email at info@armenianrugssociety.org or through our CONTACT page with #intership in the subject line or comment area.

More new projects are in the offing including new collaborations and partnerships with universities, research centers, and museums as well as cultural groups both here and abroad, which we look forward to sharing with all our members, supporters and friends around the world and in Armenia and Artsakh.

Thank you for all your support and your generous donations both financial and in kind.

​
Yours Respectfully and Sincerely,

Hratch Kozibeyokian
​Armenian Rugs Society