WASHINGTON, DC — Complementing this year’s Armenian National Committee of America Capitol Hill Observance of the 87th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide will be a week-long running of “I Witness,” a photo exhibit by “The Genocide Project” and photographers Ara Oshagan and Levon Parian. The exhibit will run from April 15 to April 19 at the Russell Senate Office Building Rotunda and is free and open to the public.
“I Witness” portrays the harrowing story of the Armenian Genocide through portraits and oral histories of Genocide Survivors.
“The Genocide Project” has brought the story of the Armenian Genocide to a new generation of audiences. The Project — started by long-time community activist
Ara Oshagan and later joined by activist Garen Yegparian, professional photographer Levon Parian, and a team of interviewers — has brought together the written word with powerful images of survivors to present to the world those who saw the atrocities of 1915 and lived to tell about it.
“The Genocide Project” has held exhibits in the California State Capitol Building, Los Angeles City Hall, the Downey Museum of Art, as well as numerous galleries, libraries, and public exhibit halls.
Additionally, “The Genocide Project” has been featured in publications such as, Glendale News Press, Los Angeles Times, UCLA Daily Bruin, Los Angeles Times Sunday Magazine, and Austin American Statesman.
Among the portraits included in the exhibit are Arpiar Missakian, born in 1894 in Kessab (present-day Syria), who, until his death in 2001, was the oldest living veteran of the US Marine Corps; Sam Kadorian, born in 1907 in Kharpert (present-day Turkey); and Sion Abajian, born in 1908, Marash (present-day Turkey), all survivors of the Armenian Genocide.
The Capitol Hill Observance of the 87th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, co-hosted by Senators Jack Reed (D-RI) and George Allen (R-VA) and US Representatives Jim McGovern (D-MA) and Joe Knollenberg (R-MI), and sponsored by the Armenian National Committee of America Eastern Region, Western Region, and Washington DC, and 101 Members of Congress, will take place on Wednesday, April 17, in the Gold Room of the Rayburn House Office Building (Rm. 2168). The program will begin at 6:00 pm.
The Observance offers Members of Congress the opportunity to commemorate the Armenian Genocide with constituents and other members of the Armenian American community — including survivors of the Armenian Genocide — as well as with leaders of human rights organizations, the diplomatic community, and members of the clergy.
The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) is the largest and most influential Armenian American grassroots political organization. Working in coordination with a network of offices, chapters, and supporters throughout the United States and affiliated organizations around the world, the ANCA actively advances the concerns of the Armenian American community on a broad range of issues.
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