Special project: The Armenian Genocide. Breaking the Silence. “100 doors – 100 Prayers”

Ahead of the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, Aysor.am starts a project that aims to discuss the cultural program being implemented.

Today we talked with Khachik Yeghoyan, the author of the photography project ‘100 Doors’. 

As part of the project, ahead of the Armenian Genocide Centennial it is planned to take photos of doors of a hundred churches and monastery complexes in Armenia, Artsakh, Javakhk, and Western Armenia.

- Khachik, please tell us about the team involved in the project.
- The team is made up of me as the project head, co-author and author of photos, also my friend, photographer Ruben Martirosyan, and a cameraman. It is a small team. A short film will be released later about the process of taking photos. I should say that in the process of taking photos, we are joined by people who just want to help us. We give them T-shirts emblazoned with the project’s name so as to make our idea more audible.

- How did you come up with the idea of photographing 100 doors of churches?
- I am a film director by profession. I have staged concerts, filmed short documentaries and commercials. In short, I have a creative personality and, more importantly, I believe in God. In fact, the project’s idea was born quite by chance. One day I was sitting in the yard of St. Hripsime Church – one of the churches I love most.  The weather was fine and the sun rays cast a beautiful shadow on the church door. As a film director I was attracted by the scene. I took some pictures with my mobile phone and when I looked at those pics later, I decided to photograph doors of a hundred churches. It happened in 2012. Later I made a decision about holding an exhibition prior to the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. You know, history suggests that mankind, especially our nation, is strong when it is united. This exhibition will be a kind of unification and pilgrimage. Many people do not go to church or are unable to do so, and in a figurative sense they will cross the thresholds of 100 churches. 

-  Under the project, you intend to photograph churches in Western Armenia as well, don’t you?
- Yes.  In all likelihood we will travel to Western Armenia for this purpose in late February. Besides, “100 Doors” photo exhibition will open in Istanbul, probably in the summer. I want people to understand that the exhibition is not an end in itself, but it is an idea, a vow for me in the process of taking photos, and also for all visitors who will look at our photos during the exhibition.

- Don’t you think that obstacles may arise while photographing in Western Armenia, especially when the purpose of taking those photos becomes clear? 
- I don’t think that photographing there is going to be an act of heroism.

- What about the exhibition. Do you think the Turkish public will perceive it duly?
- Today we managed to ensure that there are people in Turkey who stand beside the Armenians, who know the reality and accept it. In this case, I think, in addition to the local Armenian community, they will also stand beside us.

- Back to topic of the Genocide centennial. The so-called ‘cultural genocide’ was committed in 1915, and in the years before and after it. Can we say that the various cultural projects now being implemented try to raise that issue too?
- It is not a cultural problem in the first place. Mankind should condemn what happened, otherwise the same crime may be committed against many other nations. Condemnation and compensation are our primary goals today, while culture can be a means of expressing these goals. 
I think that our foreign policy deals with that issue, and it deals with it very well. The 100th anniversary of the Genocide is a date, an event that will be over after it is commemorated. God grant that people will have the strength and humanity to apologize to us at last. But if a miracle does not happen on the 100th anniversary, and another 100 years will pass, nevertheless, we must struggle for justice and we will achieve it.

- When is the 100 Doors exhibition expected to open in Yerevan?
- We are planning to open it in March or April. We would like to hold it on April 24.
As the project author I want to invite everyone, invite all those who know how to love others. If we love each other, we will be strong and united. Let it be a solemn promise and a prayer these days because sincere faith and prayer can work wonders.

The project was prepared with the assistance of the Information and Analytical Center of the Armenian Government Staff.