Cafesjian Center for the Arts, Yerevan, Armenia
Housed in a vast flight of stone steps known as the Cascade, this arts centre is one of the city’s major cultural attractions. Originally conceived in the 1920s by Soviet architect Alexander Tamanyan as part of his plan to modernise Yerevan, work on the monumental structure finally commenced in the 1980s but stalled after the 1988 earthquake. Eventually, Armenian-American philanthropist Gerard Cafesjian came to the rescue, funding its completion and transformation into a multi-level contemporary arts space.
The centre’s two external garden galleries and five exhibition halls are accessed via an internal escalator that operates from 8am to 8pm daily. Next to the escalator are platforms where artworks from Cafesjian’s personal collection of 20th-century and contemporary sculpture and furniture are displayed. There’s a decidedly quirky theme at work here, with pieces such as Studio 65 for Gufram’s Marilyn ‘Bocca’ Lip Sofa,Giogio Laveri’s Lipstick and Richard Cresswell’s Butterfly Seat three of many works catching the eye on the trip up and down.
Epic Armenia Culture & Adventure Route © Monika Newbound
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