The Life and Scholarly Legacy of Hunchakian Activist Garabed Kapikian at the Center of a Lecture and Exhibition

UCLA — On April 8, 2026, at 7:00 PM, a hybrid lecture dedicated to the study of the life and intellectual legacy of Garabed Kapikian (1864–1925) was held at UCLA, accompanied by an exclusive exhibition. The event was organized by the Promise Armenian Institute at UCLA.

The lecture was delivered by Dr. Robert Sukiasyan, Postdoctoral Scholar at the UCLA Promise Armenian Institute, who presented the work of the prominent Armenian educator, scholar, and public figure originally from Sebastia. The presentation addressed Kapikian’s scholarly formation and his career in education, which he carried out at the Aramian School in Sebastia. It also highlighted his political path and activism as an active member of the Social Democratic Hunchakian Party, which he joined prior to the Armenian Genocide and through which he participated in the late Ottoman intellectual milieu.

A central theme of the lecture was Kapikian’s role during the tragic events of 1915. He not only personally survived the deportations but later, drawing on his own observations, survivor testimonies, and collected documentation, produced some of the earliest systematic studies of the Armenian Genocide, including his work “In the Fortress of Ordeal: Little Armenia and Its Capital, Sebastia.”

Kapikian also made significant contributions to Armenian natural history and linguistics. His botanical studies and his lexicographic documentation of the Sebastia dialect (“Dictionary of the Sebastia Armenian Dialect”) remain important sources for Armenian studies today.

Alongside the lecture, the accompanying exhibition presented key aspects of Kapikian’s scholarly legacy. It included panels dedicated to Armenian flora, historical photographs, and maps illustrating his journey from Sebastia to Aleppo and Jerusalem, where he continued his educational work following the Genocide. Also displayed were personal belongings and handwritten manuscripts that survived the Genocide.

Kapikian’s grandson, Mr. Garo Kapikian, an attorney who has practiced law for many years in New York and Connecticut, also shared personal reflections.

Participants emphasized the importance of such initiatives in preserving history and recognizing scholarly heritage. One attendee noted, “Such lectures allow us to better understand our history in depth and to recognize figures like Kapikian.”

The event was attended by the Chairman of the Western United States Social Democrat Hunchakian Party Mehran Khatchadorian, SDHP Executive Committee Member Krikor Moloyan, and Armenian Council of America Chairman Sevak Khatchadorian.

The event was co-organized by the Promise Armenian Institute at UCLA with co-sponsorship by the Promise Institute for Human Rights at UCLA Law, the UCLA Center for Near Eastern Studies, the Narekatsi Chair in Armenian Studies at UCLA, the Richard Hovannisian Chair of Modern Armenian History at UCLA, the National Association for Armenian Studies and Research (NAASR), and the Ararat-Eskijian Museum.