The exhibition entitled “Armenians in Turkey” was opened
on Thursday in Arno Babajanyan Concert Hall in Yerevan, featuring the
photographs of Istanbul born Armenian Nuran Akkaya. Nuran comes from Sebastia and is for the first tin
Armenia. As confessed he understands the Armenian, yet unable to speak. “Dle
Yaman” is his favorite song. If he had an opportunity would change his name to
Hrant. “My given name at birth,” the photographer explained to the reporters.
“We - the Turkish Armenians - continue living a hidden
life and remain unnoticed. I wished to raise the curtain in the 21st century. I
tried to depict and showcase the Turkish Armenians through my photos, since
there is a distance between these two peoples - the Armenians of Turkey and
Armenia. I tried to build a bridge between them,” the artist said.
Nuran is not a professional photographer. He has worked
for 6-7 year for the current project. “While taking some of the photos, people
opened their hearts. A woman told me about kind of a map that illustrated the
recollections of her family. The map depicts their house, the church, the
village school. Only after hours of conversation, the woman decided to bring
and show me the map,” the photographer said.
The exhibition showcases 50 photographs, another 100 are
in a book. The Istanbul Armenians are in the focus of the exhibition, portraits
of the people, representing different layers of the society, are the main
characters. The photos have been taken at different times in Istanbul, Saint
Cross Church at Akhtamar Peninsula in Van, Kars, Kesaria and elsewhere.
The exhibition is the first for the photographer and he
thinks of presenting it in Turkey as well.
The opening ceremony of the exhibition was attended by
Armenian Diaspora Minister Hranush Hakobyan, who called the initiative one of
the most important projects of the ministry.
“We are consistently working with the Istanbul Armenian
community, invite dance and song groups, organize exhibitions, book
presentations, mark the anniversaries of the newspapers. I am equally glad and
sad for having such a wonderful cultural community in Istanbul since many
national, cultural works are originated from there,” the minister noted.
She next reflected on the presented works saying Nuran
has depicted “an interesting key which is the key to the future we are obliged
to unlock it and step forward”.
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