Atelier réflexion
Curatorial Conversation I Արաքս ارس Araks River Bridge-Museum
On July 1 at 5:00 PM Geneva time, the AHA collective invites the public to an online conversation about the Araks River Bridge-Museum project. Conceived in Meghri, on the border between Armenia and Iran, this initiative proposes transforming a closed border into a place of artistic, social, diplomatic, and ecological encounter. The conversation will bring together Nairi Khatchadourian, Anna Boghiguian, Catherine David, as well as Anna Barseghyan and Stefan Kristensen from Utopiana. It will be in english and accessible online via AHA’s Instagram.
Following the publication of Nairi Khatchadourian’s manifesto «I Have a Vision. Let the River Unite» in EVN Report in Summer 2025, AHA collective invites you to the first public conversation dedicated to the vision of the Արաքս ارس Araks River Bridge-Museum. Rooted in AHA’s curatorial approach of placemaking, the project begins along the Araks River, a shared waterscape that has connected communities, cultures, and ecologies for millennia, yet whose banks have increasingly been divided by political borders. Originating in Meghri, on the Armenia–Iran border, this grassroots curatorial initiative proposes transforming a closed geopolitical frontier into a contemporary art ecosystem through the creation of a bridge linking Armenia and Iran. As an architecture of connection, the bridge could become a binational institution for contemporary art, reimagining a closed border as a shared artistic, social, diplomatic, and ecological environment. Today, this geopolitical frontier is marked by fences and barbed wires from Armenia’s side, while pomegranate and fig trees continue to be nourished by the same current flowing on both sides of the riverbank.The bridge would become a place of convergence and engagement with the art histories and practices of Armenia, Iran, and the region. The bridge could be conceived as a suspended garden, inviting visitors to its mirroring riverbanks, which could host exhibition spaces, educational centres, library, and labs dedicated to art and ecology. While this vision may seem utopian today, its first steps begin with context-sensitive actions rooted in Meghri, its community, its river ecology.
Nairi Khatchadourian will present the project in conversation with artist Anna Boghiguian, curator Catherine David, and co-founders of Utopiana, Anna Barseghyan & Stefan Kristensen. The conversation will be in English, moderated by Melika Safaei. Free admission, space is limited. Registration required. The event will be livestreamed on AHA’s Instagram to engage with our neighbouring Iranian community and international audience.
Galerie photos
Anna Barseghian
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Utopiana est soutenue par le Département de la culture et de la transition numérique, Ville de Genève, par l’Office cantonal de la culture et du sport, République et Canton de Genève et par la fplce.
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