Around Town

Project Saves Receives $500K in Gifts as Photo Archive Celebrates 50th Anniversary

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Nigol Bezjian, center, filming in NYC, 1981. (Photo by Berg Zobian)

The following announcement was provided by Project Save:

Project Save Photographic Archive, a Massachusetts-based nonprofit dedicated to preserving the global Armenian experience through photography, has secured $500,000 in new financial gifts along with significant archival donations, marking major milestones for the organization’s 50th anniversary. “These transformational investments in Project Save’s future affirm the urgency and impact of our mission,” said Executive Director Arto Vaun. “They help ensure the continued preservation of Armenian social history and culture for generations to come.”

An anonymous donor has pledged $400,000 to Project Save. In addition, New York-based philanthropist Sabine Hrechdakian has made a $50,000 gift.

Around Town

Armenian Photo Archive Celebrates 50 Years; Runs Exhibit Space in Watertown, Holding Event the Library

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A photo from the Project Save archive, which preserves the Armenian experience. (Courtesy of Project Save)

Project Save, the photo archive that has preserved original photographs, the stories, identities, and histories of the Armenian diaspora celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2025, and has opened an exhibition space in Watertown where the public can view changing exhibits. A temporary exhibition is now on display at the Watertown Library. The organization began in the 1960s when founder Ruth Tomasian was living in New York City. It was officially registered in 1975.

Around Town

LETTER: Library’s Survey Missing a Key Language in Watertown

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Letter to the Editor:

The Watertown Free Public Library’s efforts to gather community input for its 2026–28 Strategic Plan are commendable and reflect a genuine desire to serve the needs of residents. However, as a former resident of Watertown, I was surprised and disappointed to see that Armenian is not among the survey’s available languages (“Watertown Library’s Survey Will Help Plan for the Future,” Jan. 6, Watertown News). Estimates suggest that Armenians make up around 20 percent of Watertown’s population, making Armenian one of the most widely spoken minority languages in the town. The Armenian community has been vital to Watertown’s cultural and social fabric for decades, contributing to its unique identity.

Entertainment

Weekend Fun: Craft Night, Irish Music, Spanish Dancing, Drawing Workshop & More

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This weekend starts off with a craft night at the library maker space on Friday for the LGBTQ community. Then Saturday there’s an Irish band playing at the Ancient Order of the Hibernians that could well get you singing and dancing the night away. If you’d prefer a Latin beat, Olespana can serve up a variety of Spanish food, to be followed by dancing in the later hours. Sunday is the time for quieter activities. There’s a drawing workshop at Mt.

Around Town

Project Save Hosting “Lens & Libations” Featuring Historic Photos of the Armenian Community

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Project Save Photograph Archive has been preserving the global Armenian experience through photography since 1975. On Oct. 17, the group will host a exhibition with cocktails in Watertown. Project Save sent out the following information:

Join us for a casual evening of cocktails, photography, & community. We’ll have some new photographs from the archives up in our gallery!

Around Town

Filmmaker to Discuss 2 of His Short Films at Watertown Library

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The following announcement came from the Watertown Library:

Internationally celebrated filmmaker Nigol Bezjian joins the Watertown Free Public Library for a special screening and discussion of two of his short films, Roads Full of Apricots (35 minutes, 2001) and Me, Water, Life (10 minutes, 2017). The event will be held at the library at 123 Main Street on Thursday, September 12, 2024 at 7 p.m.

Watertown resident Bezjian was born in Aleppo, Syria and grew up in Beirut, Lebanon before moving to the United States. He studied filmmaking at the New York School of Visual Arts (BFA in cinema) and UCLA School of Film, Theatre and Television (MFA in film producing, writing and directing). He has produced celebrated broadcast television programs throughout the Middle East, made numerous films and won awards from several prestigious international film festivals. His masterful storytelling looks closely at the lives of displaced peoples, migrants and refugees.

Around Town

Digital Archive of Armenian Music Accessible via Armenian Museum of America Website

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78 rpm records from the collection of the Armenian Museum of America are
being digitized, restored, and shared on its website under the Virtual Resources tab (Photo by
Jonathan Lizcano)

The following piece was provided by the Armenian Museum of America:

By Jesse Kenas Collins

Over the past year, the Armenian Museum of America’s Sound Archive program has taken a giant step forward. Each month, the Museum posts a handful of songs digitized and restored from its collection of 78 rpm records on its website along with a historical writeup about the artists. Along with more conventional musical recordings, some of the recordings touch on Armenian cultural, political, and educational history, as well as the history of recording technologies. The program is sponsored by a generous grant from the SJS Charitable Trust. The Museum hosted musicologist Ian Nagoski to its galleries to weave the story of the influential but largely forgotten soprano Zabelle Panosian, who was born in Bardizag and emigrated to Boston in 1907.