Consulting in Armenia - Smithsonian Exhibits

SIE’s Chief of Design, Eric Christiansen, recently traveled to Armenia as part of the My Armenia program.

My Armenia

The My Armenia program is a four-year joint project between the United States Aid for International Development (USAID), the Smithsonian Institution (SI), and the government of Armenia. It is designed to elevate the quality of the cultural products and experiences in the regions outside of Armenia’s capital city, Yerevan, with the end goal of bolstering tourism to outlying regions.

Armenia is a former Soviet Republic located at the southern end of the Caucasus mountains straddling Europe and Asia, and shares borders with Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Iran.

Phase 1, Assessment

The Smithsonian’s Office of International Relations (OIR) invited SIE’s Chief of Design, Eric Christiansen, to participate in this program and share his knowledge about museums and exhibition design. The initial trip to Armenia was an assessment phase to gain a better understanding of the conditions and opportunities at a mix of museum types at nine different rural sites in Armenia. Eric and Trisha Edwards, the Head of Education at the Smithsonian’s Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation, completed the site visits at the beginning of February under the guidance of Liz Tunic-Cedar, the OIR Manager of Global Cultural Sustainability.

Local Smithsonian and USAID staff meet with representatives from the Yeghegnadzor Archaeological Museum in their collections storage area.

The International Council of Museums (ICOM) Armenia was also present for this discussion about a historically significant hatchkar, or carved stone cross, at the Yeghegnadzor museum.

The director of the Hovhannes Tumanyan House Museum in Dsegh guides our tour through this historic site.

The Mikoyan Brothers Museum in Alaverdi was our last stop and featured in part the designer and builder of the MIG jet aircraft. Shown here is the MIG 21, the last model developed under the guidance of Artem Mikoyan.

Unusually heavy snow and single digit temperatures could not keep the dedicated team from completing their task to meet with museums representatives from four separate regions of the country. The reports were compiled and written by the OIR and included the assessments and both short-term and long-term recommendations.

Heavy snows surround the Hovhannes Tumanyan House Museum. The house once belonged to Hovhannes Tumanyan, the national poet of Armenia, and is located very close to the large gorge that inspired much of his early writing.

Phase Two, Workshops

In April, Eric helped kick-off the second phase of the project, co-leading training opportunities for staff from the regional museums. The four-day workshop was developed and facilitated by the Armenia branch of the International Committee of Museums (ICOM). Eric co-presented with Dr. Helen Evens, Curator for Byzantine Art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Amanda Mayne, International Engagement Manager at the British Museum. The well-received workshop took place in the National Art Gallery’s Old and Medieval Armenian Art galleries.

The press conference for the workshop was well attended and included speakers from the Armenia Ministry of Culture, USAID, ICOM Armenia, The Metropolitan Museum of Art New York, and the Smithsonian Institution.

Twenty-five delegates from museums in both the capital city and the outlying regions participated in the four-day workshop. It was conducted in the Old and Medieval Armenian Art Gallery in the National Gallery of Armenia.

Eric leads a discussion about what constitutes successful exhibition design and the challenges of evaluating and critiquing this type of work.

The next steps for the My Armenia project are now being calculated and Eric very much hopes to work closely again with his esteemed colleagues and many new friends in Armenia.