Niagara University’s Castellani Art Museum is taking the time to recognize an underrepresented group in the Western New York region and what they have suffered through.
“Survive Remember Thrive: Armenian Traditions in Western New York,” is open for viewing through May 7, educating people on what the Armenian experience is all about.
Project Director Edward Millar, the museum’s curator of folk art, said this exhibit is mainly a video installation that helps introduce people to the country of Armenia, where it is, when Armenians started coming to Niagara Falls, and how it has changed over time.
“It goes along with other work we’ve done over the years, raising awareness of the cultural heritage of the area,” Millar said.
The exhibit got started with the help of museum volunteer and assistant project director Dawn Sakalian, who is part of the local Armenian community. She and Millar had talked about how Armenians were underrepresented, with the Castellani Art Galley having not done any previous exhibits regarding them. He had also noticed more people with Armenian last names in the area — those ending in -ian and -yan.
“We want to bring awareness to the underrepresented Armenian community in Niagara Falls and Western New York,” Sakalian said.
Sakalian is a third-generation survivor of the Armenian genocide, where during World War I, the Ottoman Empire caused the deaths of more than 1 million Armenians living in its borders. Sakalian’s grandfather suffered through those events, being orphaned after his parents were killed.
Her father came to Niagara Falls in the 1960s, as his aunt and cousins were already in the area due to work opportunities, mainly in factories. Sakalian grew up in the center of Armenian activity in the Falls, along 9th and 10th streets which is home to two Armenian churches, St. Sarkis and St. Hagop Armenian Apostolic churches, and a community center. That community is still present even if it is more spread out, Sakalian herself now living in Wheatfield.
Newer generations of Armenians have settled in the U.S. following the collapse of the Soviet Union, and Armenia becoming an independent country, searching for opportunities and settling in areas that already have an Armenian presence, like Niagara Falls.
“To be part of people with the same heritage as you feels good,” Sakalian said.
The museum originally debuted “Survive Remember Thrive” as an eight-part video series last April, which also focused on the Armenian-American community in in Western New York. One additional short film was produced by the Buffalo Documentary Project. All of them are interviews with Armenian community members about their history, traditions, businesses, present day community events, and Armenian genocide narratives.
Five additional videos were created with those to bring the total to 14. Of all those, five will be available for viewing on Youtube after the exhibit closes.
Alongside the videos, exhibits include interpretive panels that teach about Armenian history, museum cases with historical artifacts, an incense burner used in St. Sarkis masses, and family heirlooms from local Armenian-Americans. One item from Sakalian’s collection on display is a Niagara Gazette article from 1973 titled “Sister, brother united in Falls,” where her grandfather and his sister were reunited after 59 years due to being separated during the genocide.
“Survive Remember Thrive” is the name of the first film in this series, since their ancestors survived the Armenian genocide and kept their heritage alive.
“Our heritage, traditions, and history was meant to be erased,” Sakalian said. “People who are Armenian, and who know Armenians, should know it so we can thrive in the community.”
On March 4, from 1 to 2 p.m., the museum will host a pay-what-you-wish exhibition tour of the exhibit. On March 8, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Sakalian will host a lecture titled “Community Perspectives: Preserving Armenian Heritage,” about local Armenian cultural practices and her involvement with exhibition. Reservations for both of these can be made on the museum’s website.