Juried by William Paterson Department of Art faculty members James Blasi, Andrea Geller Jablonski, Michael Rees, and Robin Schwartz, this exhibition showcases student artwork in diverse media.
Before, After traces generations of Armenian resiliency through the common threads of loss and survival. The exhibition examines connections passed down through blood, migration, and history, from genocide to diaspora to belonging. Artists John Avakian, Anush Babajanyan, Silvina Der-Meguerditchian, Vahagn Ghukasyan, Jackie Kazarian, Diana Markosian, Talin Megherian, Marsha Nouritza Odabashian, Ara Oshagan and Levon Parian, Jessica Sperandio, Scout Tufankjian, and Mary Zakarian integrate artifact with abstraction, witness accounts with recreation, old materials reused, and new molds made. The Armenian experience—both past and present, before and after—is showcased through a range of mediums and practices, reflecting the repeating patterns of grief, healing, and reflection.
One Family’s Story traces the journey of Arek and Moses Zakarian from the turn of the 20th century during the Ottoman Empire through genocide, survival, migration, and reemergence in the United States. Visitors will engage with the family’s personal photos, memoirs, musical instruments, artifacts, and artwork which serve as a backdrop to the broader history of the Armenian Genocide. One Family's Story is a collaboration between the William Paterson University Galleries, The Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies, and the David and Lorraine Cheng Library. It is made possible by the Zakarian grandchildren, led by Susan Arpajian Jolley and Allan Arpajian.
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