Ani Jermakian is an Artist, Public Elementary School Art Educator, 2020 Graduate of UMass Amherst receiving a Bachelor’s Degree in Art Education and Minor in Art History, and current 3rd year Graduate Student- pursuing a Masters of Art Education.
The 1915 Portfolio is an archive of 2D, 3D, and digital work that tells the story of the Armenian Genocide through the eyes of a great-granddaughter of survivors.
The series of work started in high school and has been in progress since 2015. Through almost a decade of focusing on the historic and present struggles of the Armenian people, many striking parallels have surfaced between the 1915 systematic massacre of 1.5 million people and 2023's ethnic cleansing of Artsakh, as well as several events in between.
Although history has repeated itself for over a century in the persecution of the Armenian people, resulting in a significant decrease of land, many people are not aware of these atrocities. Educating on this topic has become part of Jermakian’s life’s purpose.
This exhibition is dedicated to her ancestors.