Sergei Parajanov (or Sergei Iossifovich Parajanov according to Wikipedia) was one of the most important film directors of the Soviet Union. Three nations at once: Armenians, Georgians and Ukrainians claim him as their national genius. Born on January 9, 1924 in Tbilisi, Georgia, the filmmaker studied in Kiev, Ukraine, where he also made his first films. His first feature film from 1965, Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors, was awarded the Golden Medal at the Thessaloniki Film Festival in the very first year of its premiere and received awards in France and England. The film achieved cult status in the Soviet Union. Sergei Parajanov became known not only for his films, which attracted great international attention and probably even influenced Pier Paolo Pasolini, but also as a visual artist and prominent prisoner of Soviet camps. Federico Fellini supported him for years and tried to maintain international attention. Parajanov was greatly revered in Armenia, and his film The Color of Pomegranate (1969) is still considered an icon today. In 1988, an impressive museum dedicated to his life and work was opened in the Armenian capital Yerevan while the filmmaker was still alive.

The exhibition, which will open on Friday, November 29, 2024, at the InteriorDaein, is remarkable as an initiative of Armenian associations that invited compatriots living in Germany to celebrate the birthday of the famous filmmaker with works of art. Anahid Babayan from the Armenische Kulturgemeinde Leipzig e.V. organized the call and arranged the first exhibition in Eduard Panosian’s studio in Leipzig’s city centre. On August 30, 25 artists were represented in the exhibition. The exhibition was then invited to Halle an der Saale and presented to art lovers by Ararat Kultur Halle-Hoffe Saale e.V.. Now the exhibition is coming to InteriorDasein, where numerous exhibitions have been dedicated to Armenian visual art since 2008. We are particularly pleased that we have been able to attract further artists for this exhibition. Both from Berlin and from abroad. On display are paintings, drawings, prints, collages and assemblages, photographs and AI-generated images. The list of artists is long:

Elina Aboyan (Leipzig), Avo Arakelian (Berlin), Maria Arend (Berlin), Sirarpi Asatryan (Berlin), Avag Avagyan (Berlin), Suren Changlyan (Oldenburg), Zorik Davidyan (Chemnitz), Silvina der Meguerditchian (Berlin), Rosanna Eisenmenger-Karapetyan (Berlin), Samvel Gabrielian (Leipzig), Archi Galentz (Berlin), Stepan Gantralyan (Berlin), Sam Grigoryan (Berlin), Mariette Grigoryan (Bremen), Eva Harut (Dresden), Ararat Haydeyan (Saathain), Hasmik Hovsepyan-Haydeyan (Kleinkmehlen), Hratch Kaloustian (Halle Saale), Gagik Kurginian (Berlin), Elina Martirosyan (Berlin), Hakobyan Mkhitar (Siegen), Anahit Mkrtchyan (Oranienburg), Michail Schnittmann (Berlin), Nagash Tarzyan (Hürth), Ani Tiedemann (Oranienburg), Armen Vanetyan (Berlin), VAZO (Vazgen Pahlavuni Tadevosyan)(Die, France) and others.

On Sunday, December 1st from 6 pm we invite you to a musical evening with Roksana Vikaluk, Ukrainian singer, composer and multi-instrumentalist. As part of the group exhibition on the 100th anniversary of Parajanov. Inspired by the masterpiece Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors, Roksana will perform vocal improvisations of Ukrainian folk songs and share with us some stories from her family’s life in relation to the great master.

The exhibition in InteriorDAsein will remain until January 9, 2025 and is accessible by appointment after opening hours during Kolonie Weekend.