Lecture highlights Armenian art

By Jillian Yalung
The Collegian

Manuscripts, metal sculptures, paintings and many other artistic pieces will be presented tonight by Levon Chookaszian in his lecture, “Armenian Art Treasures Saved from the Genocide.”

Presented by Fresno State’s Armenian Studies Department, this lecture is being held as a part of the annual International Education Week.

Twenty-five hundred years prior to 1915, around two and a half million Armenians lived in Armenia.

Between 1915 and 1922, approximately one and a half million Armenians were killed during the Armenian Genocide, said Barlow Der Mugrdechian, a lecturer in Armenian Studies and the adviser to the Armenian Students Organization.

The survivors of the genocide, who fled the country, further risked their lives to bring precious valuable items from their homeland to their new homes.

Chookaszian, a visiting professor in the Armenian Studies Department, will discuss the journey of these one of a kind pieces and how they escaped from destruction during the genocide.

His lecture will be accompanied by a variety of slides taken from the various locations to better exemplify the topic.

Chookaszian will also discuss the various items that were saved and where they are currently being held.

“Our treasures are even more important,” said Der Mugrdechian of the historic heirlooms, “because the Armenian population no longer lives on that land.”

The lecture is tonight at 7:30 p.m. in the Alice Peters Auditorium located in the University Business Center on campus.

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