Exhibition on Hrant Dink’s life and struggle to open in Yerevan
09:10, 5 May, 2022
YEREVAN, MAY 5, ARMENPRESS. An exhibition on Hrant Dink’s life and struggle will open May 7 until July 30 at the Armenian Center for Contemporary Experimental Art in Yerevan.
The Hrant Dink: Here and Now exhibition is organized by the Hrant Dink Foundation on the 15th anniversary of the assassination of the editor-in-chief of Agos Newspaper Hrant Dink.
Hrant Dink was assassinated in Istanbul in front of his newspaper’s office on January 19, 2007.
The former office of Agos Newspaper, where thousands gather every year on the day of his assassination to commemorate and demand justice, opened its doors to visitors on April 23-24, 2019 as the 23.5 Hrant Dink Site of Memory.
23.5 promotes the universal values embraced by Hrant Dink such as democracy, co-existence, equality, truth, peace and justice. With its exhibits, archives and public programs, 23.5 acts as a space for remembrance, reflection, dialogue, learning and mutual understanding.
The site of memory takes its name from Hrant Dink’s article ‘23.5 April’, which was published in Agos on April 23rd, 1996.
The Hrant Dink: Here and Now exhibition is an extension of 23,5, said Talin Suzme, Turkey-Armenia Programme Coordinator at the Hrant Dink Foundation.
Hrant Dink will be the narrator and the guide telling his own story and his path of righteousness. Separate corners of the exhibition will be a focus on themes such as memory, justice and minority rights in Turkey.
Hrant Dink Foundation project coordinator Armenuhi Nikoghosyan said the exhibition will make Dink’s voice heard in different parts of the world and present his path of struggle.
“In Turkey, Hrant Dink was speaking about topics which weren’t that much acceptable then. His voice was silenced, but his family is doing everything they can to make Hrant Dink’s voice heard all over the world. Democracy, freedom of speech, justice, these are the issues that concern not only Turkey but other countries,” she said.
She added that the civil society is now under pressure in Turkey, and many NGOs are working in difficult conditions, facing various formal inspections and procedures.
The Hrant Dink Foundation has also faced problems. In 2020, the Dink family lawyer received threats, but many people stood by the foundation and only then legal processes were initiated.