Armenia is a country that has faced challenge after challenge that has crippled many of the structures that are meant to support their people, and the new generation- their young children- are being impacted the hardest.
After regional armed conflicts on the brink of genocide, earthquakes, corrupt governments and more, the Armenian people are being kept in a constant state of disempowerment despite the huge strength of their cultural heritage and collective.
Villages in Armenia often times have a single school and offer very little opportunity for children to receive quality education let alone be exposed to anything other than agriculture and home keeping. The Monarch Project is aiming to provide arts education and hands on arts activities for children through the principles and framework of public art.
We will be partnering with Little Star Charitable Foundation who has been working in villages like this within the Lori Province for many years helping the community by offering basic necessities as skill and independence building projects.
We successfully launched the project during the summer of 2021 and already the impact is tangible.
We worked with over 45 Hartagyugh Village kids ages 4-15 on a series of art project centered around the theme of Armenian wildlife and unnoticed beauty. Our students worked with our lead artist on a 10x33ft mural on their community center and learned how to appreciate the unique natural flora and fauna of their village.
Below are pictures of the Hartagyugh (Heartagyugh) Village located in the outskirts of Lori Province as well as the community center we worked on.
Below is the community center and the surrounding areas before our project began.
