The co-organizer and main sponsor of the Armenian National Pavilion at the 60th Venice Jubilee Art Biennale, the "Gafesjian" Art Center (GAC) implemented the educational program entitled "Soul-Sound-Image". Such a format was used for the first time in the official pavilion of Armenia.
Four meetings were held within the framework of the project, involving around 60 students and other visitors from prestigious educational and cultural institutions, including the European Cultural Academy (ECA), NEST College & Campus Trento and Università Ca' Foscari in Venice. ) from universities. In the first part of the program, the participants got acquainted with the multi-layered multimedia project "Reaction" by Nina Khemchyan, a Paris-based Armenian artist representing the national pavilion of Armenia, which has three components: "Seven Deadly Sins", "Reaction" and "Perfection". Then, in the creative area, the participants made an attempt to study the text and music of Mesrop Mashtots hymns performed by Hasmik Baghdasaryan-Dolukhanyan, which is a key part of the exhibition. They were provided with the translated texts of the hymns and special leaflets with Latin transcriptions to familiarize themselves with the contents of the hymns, some of which were even sung on the spot. Continuing listening to spiritual music, the participants tried to express their impressions of the music on circular papers with the help of different materials, similar to Nina Khemchyan's spherical clay sculptures. and feelings. Educational programs were implemented by the Director of Education of GAC Elizaveta Shirinyan. The programs were supervised by Armen Yesayants, the curator of the National Pavilion of Armenia, the Director of Exhibitions of the GAC, and the artist Nina Khemchyan. Through the "Response" exhibition and the educational program based on it, the participants got to know the Armenian culture more deeply, as well as had the opportunity to express themselves. Emphasizing such educational initiatives, both the participants and their professors noted that they had never had such an experience before, and the courses opened new horizons for them to perceive all layers of the national pavilion of Armenia.
