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Birthright Alumna Plans Art Show for
Gyumri Kids
 In the summer of 2005,
25-year-old Birthright Armenia volunteer and Sacramento native
Tamara Shahabian embarked on a four-month journey to Armenia
to change her destiny. Little did she know that when she left
Armenia, she would begin yet another journey—to help a group
of young emerging artists from Gyumri discover their own
destinies. These emerging artists are between the ages of 4
and 20 who attend the Gyumri Aesthetic Center, a school and
orphanage that promotes cultural education and development.
With classes in drawing, painting and carpet-weaving, and a
dedicated gallery displaying artwork created by children
living at the Center, the school serves as a beacon of hope
for a region that still suffers from the devastations of the
1988 earthquake.
It was during a planned excursion to
Gyumri with Birthright Armenia and the Armenian Volunteer
Corps, that Tamara and her father, John Shahabian, first
discovered the school’s gallery of artwork. As owners of
Coffee Works, a café in Sacramento that displays and sells
artwork by local members of the community, Tamara and her
father realized they had stumbled upon something incredibly
valuable. Determined to help these young artists, they decided
to plan an art show at Coffee Works featuring artwork created
by the children of the center. All proceeds from the show
would then be sent back to the school.
With the help of
Birthright Armenia, the father-daughter team was able to
transport almost 50 pieces of art all the way to Sacramento.
Tamara then worked with Coffee Works art director Melinda
Johnson to touch-up, preserve, and frame each piece. The
artwork, which consists of large paintings, paper-plate
pieces, religious icons, and medium-sized and miniature carpet
weavings will be displayed on March 19 and March 20, at both
St. James Armenian Apostolic Church of Sacramento and Coffee
Works respectively.
“We are extremely excited about the
art show and its potential to return much-needed revenues back
to Gyumri,” says Tamara. “My main goal for the show is to
illustrate to the students and orphans at the Gyumri Aesthetic
Center that they are capable of using their talents and
creativity to generate opportunities for
themselves.”
Tamara’s dedication to the upcoming Coffee
Works art show provides a source of inspiration for other
diasporan Armenians. As its core mission, Birthright Armenia
is not only committed to enriching the experience of
volunteers while in Armenia, but also promotes continued
connections with Armenia even after they leave its borders. In
fact, Tamara’s idea for the art show came as part of a
“promise” she made in a Continuing Involvement Proposal that
Birthright Armenia requires of all its program participants
when they leave Armenia. Tamara’s fulfillment of this
“promise” is just one example of the lasting impacts her
journey through Armenia has made in both her life and the
lives of other Armenians.
What Tamara and her father
have accomplished can only be seen as a goal in further
connecting the diaspora with the Homeland and aiding in its
development far into the future. What they have also provided
to the children of Gyumri is a message of hope. “I want the
children’s contributions to this art show to inspire them to
discover their own strengths and learn how they can turn their
strengths into career prospects,” she says. “I think that in
some ways, Gyumri is a desperate place, but it is so important
that the children there, and all over Armenia, remain hopeful
and learn at a young age that they can control their own
destinies.”
Birthright Armenia’s mission is to
strengthen ties between the Homeland and diaspora youth by
affording them an opportunity to be a part of Armenia’s daily
life and to contribute to Armenia’s development through work,
study and volunteer experiences, while developing life-long
personal ties and a renewed sense of Armenian
identity.
For more information, visit
www.birthrightarmenia.org.
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