A Webinar with Lara Aharonian - Roots and Resilience
Parrhesia
Parrhesia Collective is pleased to invite all its followers to a webinar with feminist activist Lara Aharonian on April 2
The Angels of History: Our Grandmothers
Talin Suciyan
The relationship between yayas born outside of Istanbul and the Armenian language was also highly intriguing. Some never learned Armenian, while others, speaking in local dialects, were shamed for it. The mistaken belief that Istanbul Armenian was the ideal and most beautiful version of the language played an active role in the rapid loss of these local dialects. The stories of our friends’ yayas in the diaspora are different from ours. The grandmothers of Armenians who migrated from Cilicia to the Aleppo-Beirut route or those who immigrated to the United States carry narratives distinct from those who remained in Turkey
Silva Bingaz and Opus 3c: In Pursuit of the Unseen and the Unrecorded
Aylin Vartanyan
Artist photographer Silva Bingaz’s exhibition, Opus 3c, opened on February 17 at Öktem Aykut Art Gallery (İstanbul) . Bingaz’s photography goes beyond the conventional act of “taking a photograph” (capturing an image and taking it away). Through her predominantly black-and-white frames, she translates the divine moment of encounter between images and the gaze into an infinite narrative in the most intimate way possible. Drawing from her new exhibition, we spoke with Bingaz about the processes of documenting the acts of “giving birth; and the efforts to record the act of bringing into existence, the act that remains unrecorded and rather traditionally unknown”
The Istanbulite Armenian woman as a performative idol
Talin Suciyan
The expected performance of an Istanbulite Armenian woman includes setting up tables during name days, hosting relatives, cooking well, being the one who brings the extended family together, keeping the house constantly clean and organized, and always being well-groomed and stylish. In other words, the Istanbulite Armenian woman must be a type of person beyond perfection!
February 14 and Armenian Holidays
Tamar Gürciyan
This year, Diyarnıntaraç will be celebrated on February 14, while the Surp Sarkis Feast will take place on February 15. I’m not sure if these holidays can be associated with St. Valentine, but for Armenians, these days represent not only hope, fertility, marriage, and purification but also have connections to the land and crops.