Blue Yerevan

The Blue Yerevan Pavilion is a mul­ti­me­dia instal­la­ti­on that explo­res the hydro-nar­ra­ti­ves of Yerevan city and the memo­ries sur­roun­ding its water bodies. Developed by the Armenian cul­tu­ral insti­tu­ti­on CSN Lab as part of its long-term trans­di­sci­pli­na­ry rese­arch, the exhi­bi­ti­on brings tog­e­ther lite­ra­tu­re, archi­tec­tu­re, urba­nism, visu­al art, archi­val mate­ri­als and eco­lo­gi­cal reflec­tions to deco­lo­ni­se nar­ra­ti­ves and reve­al alter­na­ti­ve images of the city. 

Visitors are invi­ted to dis­co­ver Yerevan through its hid­den rivers, lost land­scapes, and rich­ly laye­red memo­ries. The Pavilion evol­ves around CSN Lab’s Getar: Memory of a River book on Yerevan’s cover­ed and cana­li­sed stream, and expands into a broa­der reflec­tion that bridges lite­ra­ry nar­ra­ti­ves, archi­val maps and pho­to­graphs, mul­ti­me­dia pro­jects and artis­tic inter­ven­ti­ons. Archival pho­to­graphs and maps trace the trans­for­ma­ti­on of the urban envi­ron­ment from the start of the Soviet era to the col­lap­se of the Union and sub­se­quent deve­lo­p­ments in inde­pen­dent Armenia, while con­tem­po­ra­ry art­works and hydro-femi­nist per­spec­ti­ves explo­re how water, bodies, gen­der, and care inter­sect in the city’s land­scape. A mul­ti­me­dia sec­tion on one of Yerevan’s oldest neigh­bour­hoods exami­nes its ver­na­cu­lar net­wor­king archi­tec­tu­re and com­mu­ni­ty life shaped by the natu­ral landscape.

As both a rese­arch archi­ve and a space for public dia­lo­gue, the Blue Yerevan Pavilion invi­tes peo­p­le to reflect on water as a site of cul­tu­ral and social memo­ry, eco­lo­gi­cal heri­ta­ge, and a lens for ima­gi­ning more sus­tainable and inclu­si­ve urban futures.