The Blue Yerevan exhibition welcomed its visitors with these remarks, inviting reflection on the interconnected and fluid essence of water bodies that cross borders, geographies, and temporalities.
On 19 March, CSN Lab's art-doc exhibition opened at D21 Kunstraum as part of the Leipzig International Book Fair and the Yerevan-Leipzig Year of Culture, bringing alternative narratives of Yerevan into an international cultural context.
Developed within the framework of CSN Lab's Blue Yerevan long-term research project, the exhibition presents a decolonial reading of Yerevan through its water bodies, rivers, canals, and infrastructures that have shaped the city's spatial imagination, collective memory, and everyday life. By tracing the transformation, marginalisation, and disappearance of these blue zones, Blue Yerevan proposes a new image of the city that is fluid, layered, and interconnected.
At the core of the exhibition lies a conceptual understanding of water as a medium of communication, accumulation, and interrelation. Water is approached as a stream that carries stories and experiences, as a space where memory gathers and lingers, and as a form that connects people, environments, and everyday practices into shared cycles of exchange and continuity.
The exhibition also entered into dialogue with the wider thematic landscape of the book fair, where literature and discussions around rivers and water systems, particularly in relation to the Danube and other European waterways, formed one of the key focal points. In this context, Blue Yerevan contributed a perspective from the South Caucasus, expanding the conversation on water, memory, and environment beyond European narratives.
The opening event began with welcoming remarks by Constanze Müller from D21 Kunstraum, followed by an opening speech by curators Tigran Amiryan and Arsen Abrahamyan. The speakers highlighted the importance of cross-regional collaboration and the role of cultural initiatives in fostering dialogue between cities, communities, and institutions. In his remarks, Tigran Amiryan emphasised the need for stronger dialogue between Armenia and the European Union, as well as the importance of sharing diverse narratives about our environments, societies, and cultures. He also presented the broader Blue Yerevan research project, within which the exhibition is developed, and introduced the interdisciplinary team of artists, architects, researchers, and cultural practitioners whose work forms the core of the exhibition.
The Blue Yerevan opening event brought together a diverse audience, including visitors from Armenia, Germany, and the broader context, as well as representatives of Armenian, German, and international cultural institutions. The event created a space for exchange, reflection, and new connections across different contexts and disciplines.
The exhibition will remain open until 29 March. It marks an important step in continuing cooperation around water heritage while further expanding cultural dialogue and collaborative practices between Yerevan, Leipzig, and beyond.
The Blue Yereva exhibition is organised by the Cultural and Social Narratives Laboratory | CSN Lab in collaboration with D21 Kunstraum, Leipzig. The projects presented in the exhibition are supported by the Heinrich Böll Foundation (Yerevan Office), the Canadian Fund for Local Initiatives (CFLI), the Trust for Mutual Understanding, Goethe-Institut Armenia and Women’s Fund Armenia. Additional support is provided by the Yerevan History Museum, the National Archive of Armenia and the HinYerevan digital archive.