The Ministry of Diaspora of the Republic of Armenia hosted young Armenian businessman Gevorg Grigoryan, who has traveled from the Bulgarian city of Varna to Armenia in order to organize Bulgarian-Armenian painter Petik Petrosyan’s exhibition. On this occasion, I had a short interview with Gevorg for Hayern Aysor.

Karine Avagyan: Gevorg, you are a businessman. How are you associated with painter Petik Petrosyan’s exhibition?

Gevorg Grigoryan: Yes, I am a businessman and am the executive director of AGRIK-Bulgaria. We produce and export wheat and corn. I was born in Bulgaria and am the descendant of Armenians who escaped the Genocide. My ancestors are from Kaiser and Constantinople. Born and raised in the Diaspora, I have never forgotten my origin and my roots. I visit Armenia twice a year. Living in Varna, I would visit the city of Silistra when I was a child and would spend my vacation at the home of painter Petik Petrosyan, who is the husband of my grandmother’s sister. Many years have passed since those beautiful days, and I decided to organize the late Petrik Petrosyan’s (1912-89) painting exhibition in the Homeland. I consider it a sort of duty of the soul to the memory of that great person and talented painter. The exhibition called “Docks” will be held at the National Gallery in Yerevan and will showcase Petik Petrosyan’s 100 paintings and graphic works that portray the beautiful sites in Armenia, Silistra, Balchik, Dobruja, Pazarchik, Tutrakan and Dobrich. They are landscape paintings and show scenes of the sea. There will also be a showing of an icon and reprints of the ornaments found in churches. The series of works includes works belonging to the family, as well as collections showcased in the Gallery of Sofia and the galleries of Silistra, Varna, Plovdiv and other cities.

Karine Avagyan: As far as I know, Petik Petrosyan is the creator of the drawings of iconic images in the Armenian church of Silistra, right?

Gevorg Grigoryan: Yes, in 1941, he decorated the walls of the oldest Armenian church in Silistra in the 1620s. The small model of the monument created by the worthy son of the Armenian nation will be shown at the National Gallery for the first time. The monument is the work of famous Bulgarian sculptor and professor Georgy Tsipkanov. Next year, the monument will be erected in front of the gallery in Silistra, and the gallery will be named after Petik Petrosyan. Petik Petrosyan’s album has also been printed in three languages (Armenian, English and Bulgarian) and will also be presented during the exhibition. Petrosyan has also written poems, but they have not been published in a book. They will also be showcased. Later, we will integrate them in a collection and publish them.

Karine Avagyan: You are carrying out a godly initiative by organizing the Armenian painter’s exhibition…Gevorg, where do you go first when you visit Armenia?

Gevorg Grigoryan: Etchmiadzin, the Holy City, the Place of Pilgrimage…I visited the Ministry of Diaspora for the first time by accident, without asking anyone where it is located…I was received wonderfully, and it seemed as though I had been there 100 times. My friends, relatives and acquaintances in Bulgaria are amazed when I tell them about this…Only in a familiar home will you feel such warmth.

Interview by Karine Avagyan