Armenia

Varduhi Amiryan, Jemma Gyozalyan, Julya Khemchyan, Milena Kirakosyan, Taguhi Shirinyan, Lilit Sargsyan

"The Club Church" (2022)

This competition entry deals with the story of the Saint Peter and Paul’s church constructed in Sevkar village in 1852 and the policy of state atheism in the Soviet Union. Once a religious site, the church, instead of being demolished, was forcibly transformed into a warehouse and a club by the Soviet authorities. People used to go there to watch films. Near the club, the statue of Bolshevik leader Lenin was erected. Even the last priest of the church shaved his beard and devoted himself to agricultural work to avoid being arrested and killed by Bolsheviks. After the collapse of the USSR, the village activists demolished the Lenin statue, destroyed the second floor of the church were the Club was located, the warehouse of the first floor was closed, but in its place a tavern was opened. Many years have passed, but still no one in the village wants to speak about the tavern. No one confesses they have been in the tavern, but it’s a fact that the tavern existed for a while.

The entry won the prize “Best Work” in the Armenian History Competition 2022.

Watch a video about the entry and its making-of on YouTube (with English subtitles)