A series of ‘Days of Performing Arts’ events being held in Yerevan, Armenian provinces and Karabakh these days (July 22-29) as part of the fourth cultural festival ‘One Nation, One Culture’ have elicited a mix reaction from Diaspora and local people attending the events, with some expressing their satisfaction and others complaining about the level of organization.

A lack of due advertisement of events that participants had hoped would attract larger audiences appears to be a major sources of discontent for some festival delegates.

‘One Nation, One Culture’ is a biennial festival held since 2004. Its goal is to strengthen Armenia-Diaspora-Karabakh spiritual and cultural links, to attract the creative youth from Diaspora communities to the preservation of national culture, as well as reveal a pan-Armenian professional potential in the cultural field. This year the festival organizers have decided to hold various events throughout the year as part of the festival. The organizers are the Ministry of Diaspora and the ‘One Nation, One Culture’ Foundation.

This year the festival’s ‘Days of Performing Arts’ series have a very busy schedule of events. Festival public relations officer Marieta Makaryan says up to eight events are held daily in Yerevan, Armenian provinces and Karabakh. The largest delegations usually come from Russia, Iran and Georgia. As many as 1,200 people from about two dozen countries are attending the festival this year. Dance groups and choirs are more numerous this year.

“Representatives from different countries participate in one concert. Whether they want it or not, they then communicate with each other, exchange their addresses, make friends, go for walks together, there is enthusiasm among the participants. The main goal of the festival is to preserve the sense of national identity, and we have already achieved that,” says Makaryan.

‘One Nation, One Culture’ Foundation Executive Director Tamara Poghosyan, in her speech on July 26, ahead of the performance by a dance group from Lebanon, said that over the years the festival has become a full-fledged event.

“Today all of us are pleased to say that this generation is not only the owner of our cultural heritage, but also the bearer of that heritage. The nation that has such memory, such culture and such consolidation can realize all its aspirations,” said Poghosyan.

Nevertheless, Hmayak Hovhannisian, the teacher of pianist Hovik Keoshkerian from the United States, told ArmeniaNow that the festival events had not been properly advertised and most people are not even aware that such a series of events are on.

“Besides, we do not know where we will go. We learn that only at the last moment,” said Hovhannisian angrily, adding that it is yet early to speak about the realization of the idea of the festival.

Vahagn Azizian, the art director of the 12-member Aramayis Aghamalian theater group of the Ararat cultural union from Iran (the group, who are visiting Armenia for the second time, presented American writer Arthur Miller’s ‘All My Children’ on Monday in front of almost an empty hall) also could not hide his frustration.

“I had hoped that at least today we would have spectators; we performed in front of only a few spectators two days ago,” Azizian told ArmeniaNow, adding that no advertising had been done for their performance, which, he thinks, should have been the organizers’ responsibility.

Azizian said he planned to present his remarks on this account to the organizations in writing.

“For us it is a dream to come to Yerevan and present a play at any hall. But what now? My Armenian friends and acquaintances from Tehran who live here or are here on a vacation had come to watch the play,” he said.