“I depicted one of the houses in Stepanakert on a drinking glass: it’s our neighbor’s house. And on the back of the glass is the swing made by her grandfather, so that it will always be in memory,” Alyona depicts the sights of Artsakh, people’s houses, not only on the glass, but also on clothes, hats, and many other objects. Images with which it is possible to preserve memories related to Artsakh.

Alyona is from Artsakh, 34 years old, studied at the Gyurjyan Institute of Applied Arts in Stepanakert. In an interview with Forrights.am, she notes that she presents her works under the brand Alyon’S Brush. She mainly organizes sales through social media pages of the same name.

“My only salvation from that state of mind was painting. At first, I painted on small objects, gave them to my relatives and friends. Then I developed it, turned it into a small business,” says Alyona Hayrapetyan.

Alyona’s main customers are those forcibly displaced from Artsakh. They prefer souvenirs with images of the “Grandma-Grandpa” statue, the churches of Shushi, and Gandzasar.

“I paint first for myself: I get out of this situation and fall into another world. Only after that it is a source of income. I don’t want Artsakh to be forgotten. I paint on the theme of Artsakh so that people know what it really was like, because the Azerbaijanis are destroying it,” says Alyona and shows a souvenir with the image of the famous Holy Ghazanchetsots Church in Shushi. “The Azerbaijanis destroyed and transformed the church in Shushi. Through my work, I leave it as it was for people to know,” she says, noting that she is also trying to integrate into the Armenian labor market.

“Despite all the difficulties, I am trying to move forward, live and develop my business.”

Alyona began creating during the 44-Day War of 2020. She continued her work during the difficult days of the blockade, despite both material and psychological difficult situation.

“The blockade is a very difficult topic. It was difficult to find paint, there were no canvases, there was no material to work with. When I learned that there was an opportunity to send something from Yerevan, I first of all asked them to send paints for me so that I could paint.”

After the September 2023 war, Alyona was forcibly deported from Artsakh to Armenia, unable to bring all her works with her.

“I brought some of my works but most of them remained there. The greatest pain is that the graves of our relatives, our childhood, longing remained there. I live here, but my heart remained there. On September 19, when the fighting started, we were at home, the children were at school. At the beginning, we didn’t think that a war could start like this. It was nothing like the war of 2020. It was very horrible,” she said. Alyona Hayrapetyan is trying to be competitive with her work so that she can continue to live in Armenia.

Narek Kiraoksyan

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