Thursday, 8 February 2018
PM Takes Note of Culture Ministry’s 2017 Annual Performance and 2018 Action Plan
Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan visited the Ministry of Culture to get acquainted with the activities and priorities completed in 2017, as well as the tasks set for 2018.
Minister Armen Amiryan reported on the results of the activities carried out in 2017. In particular, he singled out the exposition, entitled “Creation,” which was dedicated to Hovhannes Aivazovsky’s 200th birth anniversary and was held at Armenia’s National Gallery, with a record-breaking attendance of 46,207 visitors. The first month’s proceeds rose to about 15 million drams (note that in 2016, the annual revenue of the Gallery was 15 million drams).
”Standard” international triennial festival of modern art and the first Music Drive Fest rock festival were organized in the period under review. “Swallow,” the first national musical award was set up. Four festivals of intangible cultural heritage were organized. On April 24, the Pan-Armenian Orchestra had a concert in Yerevan. The Armenian-Georgian artistic camp for young musicians from Armenia and Georgia was held, followed by John Malkovich in Armenia program.
The premiere of the “Deadly Judgment” multimedia presentation took place on the basis of a virtual decorative system acquired by the opera theater from European theaters. The first Armenian-Iranian full-length feature film has been created, and the National Museum of Tehran hosted “Armenia and Iran: Land Memory” exhibition.
The Cultural Stop project was implemented within which 426 cultural events were organized in 111 communities of Armenia and Artsakh and military units of RA Armed Forces. The program will continue in 2018.
The process of creation and introduction of a single electronic ticketing system has been launched (a tender has been held to that effect). It is planned to introduce the system in Yerevan within 3 months, and throughout the country - within 7 months.
13 museums have created a new collection of souvenirs, the online store of the National Gallery of Armenia has been launched.
Four festivals for raising awareness of some elements of intangible cultural heritage were organized; the network of bookstores was expanded, including the use of mobile bookstores. The legislative framework has been improved.
According to the Minister of Culture, 2,782,591 dollar-worth investments have been implemented: private investment reached USD 2,680,012 and State co-financing was USD 102,579. In particular, the Spendiaryan National Academic Opera and Ballet Theater launched a system of demonstration of electronic versions of performances; a wine history museum, a modern bookshop and the CINEMA film studio were established. The following projects have been realized: modernization of Tumanyan home-museum’s infrastructure, launch of dolls museum, Audio Guide mobile app, refurbishment of Gyumri’s “October” cinema house, solar photovoltaic system setup at Atchemyan State Drama Theater in Gyumri, restoration, fortification and excavation of various monuments.
According to Armen Amiryan, the gross revenues of 68 SNCOs subordinated to the Ministry of Culture increased steadily in 2017, making 1,748, 537.8 thousand drams against AMD 1,331,849.7 as stated in 2016.
The following major events are planned for 2018: opening of new museums, opening of Hrant Matevosyan cultural center, concerts of the United Choir and Pan-Armenian Orchestra, the 100th anniversary of the May Battles and the First Republic of Armenia, Goris - CIS cultural capital 2018, Pan-Armenian Dance Festival, Komitas Festival, a conference, opening of civilization exhibition in New York’s Metropolitan Museum, expansion of the bookstore network and more.
Karen Karapetyan instructed the Ministry to set clear targets for each individual area. “It is extremely important to know our culture and identity. It is also extremely important to propagate our culture in other countries and introduce our citizens to other cultures so that tolerance which is typical of the Armenians living in other countries comes in here. As a citizen of Armenia, I am eager to see children from vulnerable families attend cinema, theater and learn their country’s history. All this should be formulated in the form of tasks and goals. If we fail to figure out the task, it will not be solved,” the Prime Minister said.
The Head of Government asked what steps are being taken to propagate the national culture in rural communities. Adviser to the Minister of Culture Arsen Grigoryan said that for this purpose, the “Arar” project started in 2017, aimed at preserving, disseminating, developing and popularizing the national culture in the provinces.
In 13 border communities, 13 centers have already been set up, with selected professionals from these communities and about 350 children involved in free-style groups of art, sculpture, painting, drama, cross-stitching, song, dance, embroidery and more. It is planned to triple the number of such centers in 2018.
Prime Minister Karapetyan suggested providing opportunities and mechanisms for involvement of private investors, including our compatriots abroad.
With reference to the Ministry’s 2018 action plan, the Prime Minister instructed to clearly define the goals of Armenia’s cultural policy: “After summing up the results of 2017, you must formulate specific tasks for 2018. Study the international experience to understand what indicators are available that can guide us. We must clearly formulate the way we teach culture to our citizens so that they may identify themselves as Armenians and how we spread our culture abroad. As a citizen of the Republic of Armenia, where my friends, relatives and children are living, I have a vision of the cultural environment they need to become modern citizens. We must realize what needs to be done to ensure that they proudly call themselves Armenians and, at the same time, stay in tune with the modern world.”
