Government Burial Commission Established Following the Death of Zaven Sargsyan

By the decision of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, a government burial commission has been established in connection with the death of the renowned intellectual, photographer, and director of the Sergei Parajanov Museum, Zaven Sargsyan.

Zaven Sargsyan was born in Yerevan in 1947. He graduated from the Yerevan Polytechnic Institute in 1972. During his studies, from 1969 to 1972, he worked as a senior technician at the Yerevan Mathematical Machines Research Institute.

Sargsyan was one of the representatives of the advanced generation with national-modernist views in the 1960s and 1970s, who revitalized the Armenian cultural environment, paving new paths for creative freedom and development. He was a co-founder and lead vocalist of 'Dreamers,' the first Armenian rock band.

He began working in photography at a young age. His meeting with the famous film director and artist Sergei Parajanov was a turning point for the young photographer, who would become Parajanov's personal photographer and biographer, significantly contributing to the globalization of Parajanov's life and work.

In 1988, through Sargsyan's direct efforts, the Sergei Parajanov Museum was established in Yerevan, which opened in 1991. He has been leading the museum since its inception.

Sargsyan is also a prominent representative of Armenian documentary and artistic photography. His contribution to documenting Armenian historical and cultural architectural monuments, including those in Western Armenia, is invaluable. 'Armenia is Lake Van, the Euphrates River, the Tigris, Mount Sepuh, and the Araks,' the artist notes in one of his interviews.

Today, more than ever, in his photographs, he sought to encompass the trajectory of Armenian cultural identity.

Zaven Sargsyan has held solo exhibitions in Armenia, the USA, France, Germany, China, Russia, Georgia, Serbia, and other countries. In 2008, he was awarded the Order of Arts and Letters of France, and in 2011, he received a commemorative medal from the Prime Minister of Armenia. He is an honorary figure of Armenian culture.

The memorial service for Zaven Sargsyan will take place on November 25 from 18:00 to 20:00 at the Sergei Parajanov Museum, and the farewell will be on November 26 from 12:00 to 14:00 at the same location. The burial will be at the Yerevan City Pantheon (Tokhmakh).