The launch of a project to preserve the works of Armenian-American sculptor and painter Khoren Der-Harootian was launched at the Ejmiatsin branch of the National Gallery of Armenia. The initiative is dedicated to the 250th anniversary of the independence of the United States.

The project is being implemented with the support of the U.S. Department of State’s Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation, in cooperation with the National Gallery of Armenia. With U.S. funding, renovation work will be carried out on the museum building, including the restoration of its two exhibition floors, while conditions for the preservation and display of Khoren Der-Harootian’s artworks will be improved.

In 1983, Khoren Der-Harootian brought his works to Armenia and donated them to the National Gallery. The collection comprises approximately 90 sculptures and more than 100 drawings and paintings. In 1994, a permanent exhibition of his works opened at the Gallery’s Ejmiatsin branch.

The event was attended by Deputy Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport of the Republic of Armenia Alfred Kocharyan, Public Affairs Officer at the U.S. Embassy Griffin Rozelle, and Director of the National Gallery of Armenia Marina Hakobyan.

ESCS Deputy Minister Alfred Kocharyan thanked the U.S. side for supporting the project, emphasizing that the initiative represents an important contribution to the preservation of Armenia’s cultural heritage and reflects the effective cooperation and partnership that have developed between Armenia and the United States in the field of culture.

“Khoren Der-Harootian’s life and artistic journey are a vivid expression of the enduring cultural ties between Armenia and the Diaspora. Through his work, the artist succeeded in bringing together the historical memory and national identity of the Armenian people with universal values, creating a distinctive dialogue between Armenian and world art,” Alfred Kocharyan noted.

The Deputy Minister also toured the museum’s exhibition hall, where sculptures, drawings and paintings by Khoren Der-Harutyunyan are on display.