Armenia in the World: A New Virtual Experience

A virtual exhibition at the Museum of the Bible in Washington, DC documents the sacred sites and personal stories of the Armenian people from the contested region of Artsakh, known internationally as Nagorno-Karabakh. This timely initiative makes accessible to broader and distant audiences the rich cultural heritage and troubled history of the territory bordering Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Iran, as well as the urgent need for protection of its endangered sacred sites. 

Ancient Faith: The Churches of Nagorno-Karabakh opened on June 24, 2021 with a virtual panel discussion in which experts and theologians addressed the religious and cultural significance of the region, while briefly presenting the sites, themes, and issues explored in the exhibition. 

The opening webpage of the virtual show features the seven religious sites at the heart of the project: the fortified Amaras Monastery, the monastic complex at Dadivank, the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist at Gandzasar Monastery, the Cathedral of Ghazanchetsots, the unique khachkar (commemorative cross stones) from Handaberd Monastery, the remnants of the school in Tzar, and the church of Tzitzernavank. These sites and objects demonstrate the diversity and beauty of Armenian art and architecture in Artsakh, as well as the long history of the Armenians in the region, from as early as the fourth century.

The beginning of the virtual exhibition also offers details about Armenia and its Christian history, including an overview of the conflict in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the course of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, and especially after the break-up of the Soviet Union. The concluding section of the opening page outlines the ongoing destruction of cultural heritage in the area, which intensified during the clashes that took place between September and November 2020. This makes the protection and preservation of the cultural sites all the more urgent.  

From the opening page, visitors can explore in detail the seven religious sites and objects at the core of the exhibition, presented in the top register of the webpage in alphabetical order with thumbnail images. Each image opens a separate individual page for each site that contains general views, spatial and decorative details, as well as objects associated with that locale, and a brief historical synopsis (with  footnotes and credit lines). Each page also features a video presentation that immerses visitors into the historical site and foregrounds aspects of its religious life, meanings, and functions through firsthand accounts from local residents. The virtual format of the exhibition enables selective and prolonged engagement with the material presented, encouraging appreciation and contemplation of the religious buildings and objects, their contexts of use and display, and their deep histories, as well as their present endangered conditions.

For the visitor who may not know much about the local history, the exhibition offers a clear and concise presentation of the main events and issues at the center of the conflict. But the clear focus is on the religious heritage and cultural value of the sites for Armenia. Usually, it is precisely this aspect that suffers most and is overlooked in political and military conflicts, as we have already seen with ISIS in Syria and Iraq, for example. 

Although for most interested visitors physical access to the sites covered in the exhibition is impossible, the virtual format of the show and its multimedia features bring the sites to life. One can learn about the churches from the text and images, and also be immersed in their contexts through the short videos narrated by natives of Armenia. The interactive nature of the project situates the buildings in their respective contexts of use, while revealing their deep historical roots and religious and social functions. 

Studying images and sites on a screen is certainly not the same as viewing and experiencing them in person, but the virtual format of this exhibition enhances the understanding of the architectural sites at the core of the project. The focus is on the buildings and their surroundings, their decorative features and religious objects, as well as their cultural value. 

The Armenia! exhibition organized at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City (September 22,  2018 – January 13, 2019) focused on about 140 objects that demonstrate Armenia’s cultural achievements, Christian identity, and global connections from the fourth to the seventeenth centuries. Unlike this important project that placed emphasis on portable objects, the recent virtual exhibition at the Museum of the Bible centers on specific sites and their broader contexts, meanings, and functions. These multifaceted religious complexes could not have been brought into full view in a physical museum or gallery setting.

Nevertheless, the virtual presentation of the images and religious objects from these sites, such as the manuscripts produced in local scriptoria and details of architectural sculpture and mural decoration, cannot be examined in full on the screen. The rich materiality, scale, color schemes, and iconography of these objects and images are best appreciated in person. For this reason, Armenia! offered an unprecedented opportunity to explore the full range of materials, techniques, styles, and details of Armenian religious objects. Set in the gallery and artificially lit, these objects were removed from their original contexts of use which in turn placed emphasis on their material and artistic values.    

The virtual format of the current exhibition Ancient Faith: The Churches of Nagorno-Karabakh has also made the material under consideration accessible across the world. Anyone can “travel” and “experience” the sites from anywhere, learning about the rich Armenian history, art, architecture, and visual culture of the region of Artsakh, as well as their current endangerment due to conflicts on the ground. Although such efforts cannot simulate the actual experience of visiting these sites in person, they can educate and bring to the attention of the wider public their histories and current conditions. Such efforts and the individuals and institutions that support them play a crucial role in disseminating knowledge and encouraging current and future generations to travel to the sites themselves and ensure their appreciation, preservation, and continuation. 

Further Reading:

Helen C. Evans, ed., Armenia: Art, Religion, and Trade in the Middle Ages (New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art; New Haven: Yale University Press, 2018).

Christina Maranci, The Art of Armenia: An Introduction (New York: Oxford University Press, 2018).