World Labyrinth Day and Reception to View the 2016 Abstract Sculpture
BOSTON, Mass.—On Sat., May 7 at Armenian Heritage Park on the Greenway in Boston, two events are being held—both featured in ArtWeek Boston, a “weeklong celebration of unique and creative experiences that are participatory, interactive, and one-of-a-kind creative celebrations.”
Armenian Heritage Park (Photo: Peter Vanderwarker)
At 1 p.m., the public is invited to participate in World Labyrinth Day’s Walk as One, when people in cities and towns in 23 countries worldwide will walk a labyrinth “as one at 1” in a “shared symbolic worldwide walk for peace.”
For first-time participants, Chiara Megighian Zenati, certified labyrinth facilitator, will offer an introduction to walking a labyrinth at 12:45 p.m. The Friends of Armenian Heritage Park, in collaboration with the Labyrinth Guild of New England, are pleased to participate in this international event, organized by the Labyrinth Society. The labyrinth at Armenian Heritage Park is the only labyrinth on public land in the northeast.
At 1:30 p.m., all are invited to attend the reception to view the 2016 Configuration of the Abstract Sculpture. Tea and desserts are generously hosted by MEM Tea Imports and Eastern Lamejun Bakers and their respective owners, Gilbert Tsang and Bedros Der Vartanian.
Annually, the abstract sculpture, a split dodecahedron made of aluminum and steel, is reconfigured. The two halves are lifted by a crane and reconfigured, symbolic of all who were pulled away from their country of origin and came to these shores, establishing themselves in new and different ways. The annual reconfiguration is funded by the Charles G. and Doreen Bilezikian Fund, an endowed fund of Armenian Heritage Park.
During the reception, a brief program will feature remarks from Lucas Antony Cowan, public art curator, Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy; Nanore Barsoumian, editor of the Armenian Weekly; and Alin K. Gregorian, editor of the Armenian Mirror Spectator.
Barsoumian will offer the welcome. She assumed the editorship of the newspaper in 2014 and for 4 years prior served as assistant editor. Her writings focus on human rights, politics, poverty, and environmental and gender issues. She has reported from Armenia, Nagorno-Karabagh, Javakhk, and Turkey. She earned her B.A. in political science and English from the University of Massachusetts (Boston), where she is currently continuing her graduate studies.
Cowan will speak about the significance of the park’s abstract sculpture and labyrinth as public art valued and enjoyed by the city. He recently commented, “Unlike static cenotaphs and monuments, the abstract sculpture in Armenian Heritage Park on the Greenway does what so many others do not: It represents life. The changing nature of the shape each year—coupled with children running and laughing along the labyrinth and through the fountain—facilitate the development of new memories while allowing remembrance of the past.”
Cowan leads the Conservancy’s efforts to bring world-class temporary exhibitions of contemporary public art to the mile-and-a-half parks system in the heart of Boston that connects people and the city with beauty and fun. Prior to joining the Greenway in 2014, Cowan directed the Public Art Program for the Maryland State Arts Council. He has served on juries and panels across the United States, and has consulted on cultural park planning for major cities such as San Francisco and Chicago. Cowan holds degrees from the Maryland Institute College of Art and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
Gregorian will speak about the reconfiguration from a personal perspective. She has been editor of the Armenian Mirror Spectator, the oldest English-language Armenian newspaper, since 1996.She won the coveted New England Press Association Award for Regional Newspaper of the Year while editor of the Bedford Minuteman. She has also been assistant editor of the Belmont Citizen-Herald and a freelance writer for the Community Newspaper Company. She earned her B.A. in international relations from Tufts University and her M.S. in journalism from Boston University School of Communications.
The events are free and open to the public. For more information about events at the park, visit ArmenianHeritagePark.org or e-mail info@ArmenianHeritagePark.org.
Source: Armenian Weekly
Link: Heritage Park May 7 Events Featured During ArtWeek Boston