From November 25 to 30, the Yerevan Art Forum took place in Yerevan at the initiative of the Goethe-Institut Armenien and with the support of the European Union Delegation to Armenia. The Forum brought together artists, independent art initiatives, and institutions active in Armenia on a shared platform to articulate and reflect on the pressing issues shaping the country’s contemporary cultural and artistic landscape.
CSN Lab was pleased to participate in the Forum, presenting to both the professional community and a wider public its research-based approaches to contemporary art, as well as its extensive experience of working with artists through the realization of art laboratories and exhibition projects.
The Art Forum initiated a collective exhibition of artist-led, self-organized initiatives and independent art organizations. Within this framework, CSN Lab presented its installation “Bold and Colorful,” based on one of the organization’s research projects on contemporary art titled “Memory of the Body: Analysing the Representation of the Body in Contemporary Armenian Culture and Art.”
At the center of the artistic intervention is a book, performing as an archival and conceptual platform that explores, documents and questions the bodyness of Armenian contemporary culture and art. The installation “Colorful and Bold” was dedicated to artist Arman Grigoryan, whose practice not only played a central role in shaping the “Memory of the Body” research, but also in contemporary art in Armenia.
Throughout the forum, the CSN Lab team was actively engaged in the ongoing discussions. CSN Lab founder Tigran Amiryan participated in a panel discussion focused on understanding the financial relationships between organizations and artists. He emphasized the importance of protecting artists’ rights, the immense responsibility that organizations hold, and the need to better value and support artistic labor.
Team member Nanor Hovanessian also moderated a panel discussion dedicated to self-organized art initiatives, addressing issues of artists’ rights, the formation of collectives, their modes of operation, and their responses to moments of crisis.
During the Art Forum’s program, CSN Lab also presented the “Common Breathturn” Armenian-Georgian exhibition, which aimed to strengthen cultural dialogue especially in the context of regional instability. Within the Forum framework, a guided tour led by co-curator Tigran Amiryan offered participants an in-depth understanding of the exhibition’s conceptual foundations, as well as the dialogue between the artists and their works.
CSN Lab’s participation in the Art Forum once again underscored the organization´s role at the intersection of art, research, and human rights. We are continuously aiming to foster critical engagement with contemporary art, regional dialogue, and public discussions around artists’ rights.
The Art forum is financed by the European Union in Armenia and implemented by the Goethe-Institut Armenien․
Photographer - Ed Tadevossian