October 11, 2022 – May 30, 2023
Exhibition Curator: Marine Haroyan

…One of the most unforgettable, most powerful impressions was the one which I had the day I met and heard Komitas Vardapet.
Archag Tchobanian

The “More than a century” temporary exhibition of the Komitas Museum-Institute and the Museum of Literature and Art after Yeghishe Charents is dedicated to the 150th Anniversary of Archag Tchobanian, the writer, critic, philologist, journalist, activist, Knight of the Legion of Honour and good friend of Komitas Vardapet.
While living in Paris for around 60 years, A. Tchobanian worked on representing Armenian literature and art in Europe and the pursuit of justice for Armenian Nation. He translated into French and published works of ancient and modern Armenian poets and had personal connections and correspondence with European writers and activists. The literary and public activities of A. Tchobanian were highly appreciated both by Armenian and European writers: Anatole France, Emile Verhaeren, Romain Rolland, Franz Werfel, Paul Éluard․
He was deservedly called the Ambassador of Armenian Art in Europe.
The Exhibition is about the “friendship more than a century” of two great personalities and the significant role that A. Tchobanian played in Komitas Vardapet’s life, especially in preserving Komitas’s heritage and transferring it to Armenia.
In six thematic parts of the Exhibition, through the combination of graphic images and artefacts we presented various fragments and events, telling about the personal and creative interactions of Komitas and A. Tchobanian.
The transition from graphic image to an artefact and the opposite lets the visitor learn about various moments of the lives of two great people by using graphic creations, as well as archival documents, photographs, manuscripts and rich audiovisual materials.