The Community’s Museum: Art and History at the Ararat-Eskijian Museum
By Ramela Grigorian Abbamontian

Critics’ Forum
Visual Arts
6/10/06

Like many of the artifacts contained within, the Ararat-Eskijian
Museum (AEM) is a hidden treasure awaiting discovery. Nestled
quietly in Mission Hills on the campus of The Ararat Home of Los
Angeles, the museum is the physical manifestation of the dream of
one individual, genocide survivor Luther Eskijian, who created the
museum “to preserve our Armenian culture and historical treasures
for generations to come.”

In 1989, at the age of 78, genocide survivor Luther Eskijian
embarked on a quest to realize his 30-year-old dream of creating a
museum where his collection could be used to preserve the cultural
identity of the Armenians. “I have been a collector of historical
artifacts, coins, maps, art, documents and books since my early
childhood. I was drawn to collecting these items first for their
historical value, second, because of their beauty, and finally, to
preserve these collections for others to enjoy,” notes Eskijian in
the Founder’s Statement. Using his connection with the Ararat Home
(as its volunteer advisor of many years), he proposed adding a
museum and a sanctuary to the site. Working diligently as architect
and general contractor for about four years, Eskijian, at the age of
82, witnessed the fruits of his dream when the museum opened its
doors in 1993.

The mission of the museum is clearly articulated on its website
(): “The Ararat-Eskijian Museum ~E was
created to enrich, inspire and educate the community through the
display of artworks and exhibits, presentation of programs, and
collection of research materials featuring the history and cultural
heritage of the Armenian people.” A detailed list that follows
expounds how the museum aims to achieve this mission, including
collecting valuable items, accepting the community’s contributions
of artifacts, focusing on research and education, housing a library
(of primarily genocide-related materials), and offering cultural
programs. These are ambitious aims for a tiny museum, yet as a
review of its most recent activities will soon illustrate, the
museum appears to tirelessly strive for these goals. These efforts
fill a critical need because, as its mission statement reminds us,
the museum “serves the largest Armenian community in the Diaspora
and is the only Armenian museum on the west coast.”

In its 6,000 square feet~Vrelatively small exhibition space~Vthe
museum’s impressive and eclectic collections include antiquities,
decorative arts, drawings, historical documents, musical
instruments, paintings, prints, rugs, sculptures, stamps, coins, and
textiles. Considering the inspiring story of the museum’s founder,
its collections, its programming, its role as a site of remembrance,
and its close relationship with the community, we might conclude
that though young and still nascent, the museum is nonetheless an
important thread in the fabric of the community and a powerful
vehicle of its preservation.

Like most small museums, AEM is staffed primarily by volunteers and
a few paid employees. The powerhouse behind the museum’s operations
is Maggie Mangassarian-Goschin, who began volunteering at the museum
in 1998 and has since dedicated countless hours to making its
mission a reality. In fact, she can easily be considered the
museum’s unpaid director and~Vas most directors in small museums will
attest~Vwears a number of different hats, including programming,
staffing, curating, and even housecleaning and maintenance. Though
the small group of staff and volunteers are clearly dedicated to the
museum, more volunteers are always needed to achieve the large-scale
goals of the museum.

A key feature, though not the entire focus, of the museum is its
presentation of the 1915 Armenian Genocide. Visitors to the museum
are greeted by the “Mother Armenia Rising Out of the Ashes,” the
bronze sculpture flanking the entrance. Dedicated to the victims as
well as survivors of the 1915 Genocide, this living memorial has
elicited a myriad of reactions from viewers, most notably prayers,
tears, and flowers placed at her feet. Museum staff has often
glimpsed the elderly residents of the Ararat Home deep in thought
beside the woman and child figure. One wonders: what are they
thinking and remembering? What are their personal stories? And
more to the point, who preserves them? These critical questions
further reinforce the essential role of the museum in the community.

In another section of the small area dedicated to the Genocide,
artists Nora Nalbandian and Guilda Deirmendjian have painted “The
Der Zor Memorial Mural,” a tortured desert landscape pervaded by
light and vibrant colors from above, in what seems to represent the
hope of God. A box of human bones retrieved on a Der Zor mission by
some museum members sits in front of the mural, a reminder of the
unmarked graves of the victims. Initially, the alcove was intended
as a silent site of meditation. Yet as the number of non-Armenian
visitors increased, so did their questions. “What is this mural
about?” “Where are the bones from?” The museum has since
recognized the visitors’ concerns and has added extensive wall text
and photographic reproductions to tell the story of the Genocide.
Though the text at times almost overpowers the silent testimony of
memory, it is a necessary addition, since one of the museum’s goals,
as Goschin reiterated in a recent interview, is to introduce
Armenian culture and history to the non-Armenian public. Without
the labels, there is always the risk that visitors would admire the
objects simply for their beauty, instead of as emblems of historical
value.

The rest of the collection, as delineated earlier, is quite diverse~V
not uncommon among collectors like Eskijian, who amass an assortment
of objects through the years. That large collection of objects,
along with the museum’s small exhibition space, poses a challenge in
creating appropriate and cohesive displays. But surprisingly, the
varied selection also presents a more expansive view of Armenian
history, marking its origins (the oldest items date from 2500 years
ago to the Urartian and Hittite periods), its Christian faith, its
persecution, and its contributions to various neighboring countries.

Like its collection, the museum’s programs are also eclectic and
varied, and include film screenings, art exhibitions, lectures, and
musical performances. Its programming has burgeoned rapidly in the
last couple of years (a look at the website’s Events section will
confirm this), triggered~Vaccording to Goschin~Vby the exhibition
organized by three UCLA graduate students who temporarily adopted
the museum to curate a student art exhibition entitled “In
Celebration of Life: Armenian Identity and Culture of the Diaspora”
(April 2002).

The museum’s impressive list of programs features such prominent
scholars and artists as filmmaker Michael Hagopian, historian George
Bournoutian, art historian Levon Chookaszian, and genocide scholar
Vahakn Dadrian. (Audience numbers at these events number anywhere
from 50 to 100.) Another step in the right direction has been the
museum’s recent collaboration with other major Armenian
institutions, a move they intend to~Vand in fact, should~Vpursue, in
order to introduce the museum to new audiences and continue offering
quality programs. Notably, AEM has joined forced with NAASR
(National Association for Armenian Studies and Research) and
recently jointly hosted the lecture, “`Kiss My Children’s Eyes’: A
Search for Answers to the Armenian Genocide through One Remarkable
Photograph” (March 2006). The lecture featured Pulitzer-Prize
winning Boston Globe investigative journalist Stephen Kurkjian, who
discussed his quest to identify the group of Armenian men standing
under Turkish guard in front of a building in Gesaria (Caesarea) in
1915.

Currently, the museum is in the midst of preparing a teacher
workshop for the Fall to introduce teachers~Vfirst from Armenian
private schools and then from area public schools~Vto the collections
and the different ways of integrating the various items in the
collection into educational courses, including Social Studies,
History and English. Also in the works are a High School Volunteer
Program and the continuing development of relations with university
professors to help them encourage their students to visit the
museum. Another long-term goal of the museum is supporting local
artists. To that end, the museum recently curated “The Visual
Poetry of the Homeland: The Photographs of Vahé Peroomian and Ara
Meshkanbarian,” (September to October 2005). In the
accompanying “Dialogues with the Artists: Interview and Reception,”
the public was introduced more intimately to the artists’ motives
and inspirations. While the museum would like to do more in terms
of supporting local artists, it does not yet have the manpower,
time, or funding to organize exhibitions on a more consistent basis.

Founder Eskijian reminds the public on the museum’s website
that, “The Ararat-Eskijian Museum belongs to all Armenians.” And in
its mission statement, the museum “encourages the community to
contribute historical artifacts and actively participate in the
preservation of family histories and experiences.” In this way, the
museum has become a living repository, each donated item breathing
new life into its growing collection.

While the museum endeavors to be a place for the community, it also
desperately needs support. This need is especially critical for a
museum dedicated to a small ethnic community. Ideally, a reciprocal
relationship should exist between the two~Vthe museum preserving the
community’s culture and heritage and allowing it to take pride in
its accomplishments, with the community in turn allowing the museum
to thrive with its support. In Ron Chew’s article “In Praise of the
Small Museum” (Museum News, March/April 2002, p.38), Steve Olson (at
the time of the article, Assistant Director of the Museum of Church
History and Art) warns that “if you added up all the collections in
the country, numerically, most of the artifacts would be found in
small museums. If we don’t help the small museums, we’re literally
risking the fabric of our own heritage.”

Is the museum, then, solely for Armenians? Goschin and other museum
staff would reply that it is not, and like most Armenians, express
their desire to share their rich culture with others. But the
museum also inspires Armenian and non-Armenian visitors alike to
reflect on their own cultures and recognize similarities with those
of others by emphasizing the common need to preserve their stories
for future generations.

The museum is currently open only on Saturdays and Sundays, between
1 and 5 pm, as well as the first Tuesday of every month after the
Women’s Guild Luncheon at the Ararat Home. Admission to the museum
and to all events is free.

All Rights Reserved: Critics Forum, 2006

Ramela Grigorian Abbamontian is a PhD candidate in Art History at
UCLA. She has been with the Ararat-Eskijian Museum since 2001.

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