MISSION HILLS — The Ararat-Eskijian Museum (AEM), National Association for Armenian Studies (NAASR), are pleased to announce an upcoming talk “Feast of Ashes: The Life and Art of David Ohannessian” by Sato Moughalian. Saturday September 21st, 2019, 4PM Ararat-Eskijian Museum/Sheen Chapel 15105 Mission Hills Rd., Mission Hills Ca 91345.
Feast of Ashes (Stanford Univ. Press, 2019) tells the story of David Ohannessian, the renowned ceramicist who in 1919 founded the art of Armenian pottery in Jerusalem, where his work and that of his followers is now celebrated as a local treasure. Ohannessian’s life encompassed some of the most tumultuous upheavals of the modern Middle East. Born in an isolated Anatolian mountain village, he witnessed the rise of violent nationalism in the waning years of the Ottoman Empire, endured arrest and deportation in the Armenian Genocide, founded a new ceramics tradition in Jerusalem under the British Mandate, and spent his final years, uprooted, in Cairo and Beirut. Ohannessian’s life story is revealed by his granddaughter Sato Moughalian, weaving together family narratives with newly unearthed archival findings. Witnessing her personal quest for the man she never met, we come to understand a universal story of migration, survival, and hope.
Sato Moughalian is an award-winning flutist in New York City and Artistic Director of Perspectives Ensemble, founded in 1993 to explore and contextualize works of composers and visual artists. Since 2007, Ms. Moughalian has also traveled to Turkey, England, Israel, Palestine, and France to uncover the traces of her grandfather’s life and work, has published articles, and gives talks on the genesis of Jerusalem’s Armenian ceramic art.
As part of the program, Sato Moughalian, flutist, and Anya Garipoli, harpist, will perform three works by Gomidas Vartabed. Ms. Katawara’s appearance has been made possible by the Jarvis and Constance Doctorow Family Foundation, in collaboration with Ensemble.
For more information call the Ararat-Eskijian Museum at 747-500-7584 or e-mail Eskijian@ararat-eskijian-museum.com.
Live Stream through Ararat-Eskijian Museum.com Website or Facebook
