From 7 – 14 July at the "Sredets" Gallery of the Ministry of Culture the exhibition "Architecture of Armenia" was presented. Due to the invitation of the Union of Bulgarian journaliststhefamous all over the world Armenian photographerZaven Sargsyan presented his photos.

The exhibition was possibledue to the support of the Ministry of Culture and the Armenian General Benevolent Union "Parekordzagan" AGBU Sofia.

Zaven Sargsyan was born in 1947 in Yerevan. He graduated radio engineering at the Polytechnic Institute, but the life connected him with the world of art. In the 60–s he was a soloist in the rock band "The Dreamers", performing the songs of “The Beatles”. Later he was the head of the State Museum of Folk Arts in Yerevan, and from 1991 up to present he is the head of the "Sergei Paradjanov" museum.

Without any doubt, his passion is photography. Photos of Z. Sargsyan were published in prestigious Armenian journals and were used asillustrations in books about Armenian architecture, history and culture. For a long time he has been working for the Armenian encyclopedia. Hehas his solo exhibitions all around the world.He also teaches photography at the Armenian State Pedagogical University.

Sargsyan likes to shoot landscapes and architectural sites. Such photos wereexhibited in Sofia. From the pictures, presented at the "Sredets" Gallery, jets the warm light and the proud goodnessof Armenia.Zaven is also a master of the portrait. His exhibition of Sergey Paradjanov travelled successfully around the world and was presented nearly 70 times over 30 countries, including Bulgaria. The crucial moment in his life was his meeting with the legendary director (Paradjanov). They become friends and Zaven had the chance to observe and to take photos of the work of this genius of cinema. Later he founded and became manager of the house museum "Sergei Paradjanov" in Yerevan. They say that the house museum is unique - as the director himself. Zaven believes that the world has no more than 10 directors who have created their own type of cinema so they should be remembered;their work should be studied and preserved.

That is why on July 13, in the office of the Armenian General Benevolent Union "Parekordzagan" AGBU Sofia one of the iconic films of the director - "The Color of Pomegranate"was presented. Members of the union but also by many young people came to appreciate the masterpiece of Paradjanov, screened in 1968. Onecould hardly dream of a better guide through the allegorical images and bizarre picturesthan Zaven Sargsyan.

 Photos: Marie Kanalyan