WATERTOWN, Mass.— “Who we are… Our Armenian Identity,” Project SAVE Armenian Photograph Archives’ 2017 calendar brings to life a theme that is bubbling up in private conversations as well as in the broader community.
‘Who we are… Our Armenian Identity’
Project SAVE’s calendar speaks to the experience of various identities within one culture. Throughout recent Armenian history, the “homeland” has been in multiple places—in the Ottoman, Persian, and Russian empires—and therefore Armenians have naturally balanced their personae with a mix of Armenian and dominant cultures. For equally as long, Armenians, being merchants and traders, have traveled and settled throughout the world, establishing communities that have their own combination of mixed identities.
The calendar also speaks of what Armenians share in common, sustained through time, over countless generations. These shared customs and values are familiar regardless of what part of the world Armenian families trace back to.
This Project SAVE Archives calendar is dedicated to longtime board member Tom Vartabedian. The organization honors his memory with the calendar of photographs and their stories, which speaks to his life as a journalist, photographer, and community activist.
“Who we are…Our Armenian Identity” is Project SAVE’s 30th calendar. The first was published in 1985. Enclosed with each calendar is a list of all 30 previous calendars. Most are still available for purchase at reduced prices. Each offers a unique view of social history based on a theme, for example: Armenian Dancing (2011), Armenians in the Military (2002), Armenian Weddings (1996), and Armenian Education (1999).
As an archive, Project SAVE’s work is a concerted effort to responsibly and professionally collect historical documents. Photographs, when coupled with information provided by donors reveal much about social history. Project SAVE’s annual calendar is a way to share and promote the photographs and their stories they have collected, documented and preserved.
This calendar is an important source of Project SAVE’s operating income. Your purchase of “Who we are… Our Armenian Identity” for yourself or as a gift, continues Project SAVE’s work, dedicated to saving the photographic heritage of the worldwide Armenian community.
Source: Armenian Weekly
Link: Project SAVE Released 2017 Calendar