Building Culture in Armenia: The Oshakan Project

The Oshakan Project is an AA Visiting School which introduces a series of public structures to the historic fabric of Oshakan, a rural village 26km northwest of Yerevan, Armenia. This exhibition documents the workshop that took place in July 2024, when local and international students worked with the community to document various forms of heritage in the village. It presents key artefacts from the Visiting School workshop, including a map drawn with residents to capture stories and monuments in Oshakan; participant Zhenyu (Lachlan) Wu’s 1:1 survey of one of the stork nests that appear on Oshakan’s telephone posts; and photographs taken by local Armenian artist Pirouza Khalapyan and photojournalist David Yeung, who accompanied the Visiting School.

Image: The Oshakan Project, AAVS Armenia, 2024

The Oshakan Project is directed by Aram Mooradian and Shant Charoian, and assisted by Anoush Quinn.

Students:
Maria Babyan, Isabel Connolly-Linden, Boya Hou, Emelia Johnson, Razmik Kaloyan, Mher Khachikian, Daria Kravchenko, Yuyang (Sunny) Lee, Elen Margaryan, Zoe Mirkovic, Henry Morgan, Simonpietro Salini, Nikola Da Silva Azevedo, Holly Spragg, Xiaotao (Karen) Tong, Hongyi Wang, Zhenyu (Lachlan) Wu.

Photographers:
Pirouza Khalapyan and David Yeung.

This exhibition is a collaboration between the Armenian Institute in London and the AA Visiting School, and was generously funded by the British Council.

The British Council’s Architecture Design & Fashion Biennales & Festivals Grant provided a wonderful opportunity for Armenian architects and creatives to showcase their work at the Living | Building | Together festival hosted by the Armenian Institute in London.