We recently connected with Tamar Hovsepian and have shared our conversation below.

Tamar, appreciate you joining us today. One of our favorite things to hear about is stories around the nicest thing someone has done for someone else – what’s the nicest thing someone has ever done for you?

I believe the kindest thing you can do for anyone is to give them opportunities and support. I was privileged to have the support and mentorship of so many amazing teachers, writers, editors, and professors, who believed in me and gave me the opportunity to study and write about art at a very young age.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

After graduating with BA/MA degrees in Art History from the Armenia State Academy of Fine Arts in 2006, I moved to New York City and started my career. I worked at the Queens Museum of Art, Microcosm Gallery, Stephen Haller Gallery, and A.I.R Gallery in Chelsea. I co-curated my first exhibition of works by 32 female Artists of Armenian descent in New York City in 2007 and have been curating since then. In 2022 with my colleague Christopher Atamian, we established the Atamian Hovsepian Curatorial Practice (AHCP) with the mission of supporting the many underrepresented voices creating outstanding art, especially Armenian artists.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

Therer are too many stories to share. My entire life’s story is a testament to my resilience. I had a difficult childhood and my adult life took several tragic turns. Despite my hardships I found a way to build a better life for myself and positively impact the lives of those who surround me.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

My work has been focused on providing opportunities to creatives, especially those whose practices, methods, forms, and expressions have been unrecognized or marginalized. In this spirit, I established the AHCP artist residency program for Armenian artists with the support of my husband and arts patron Rafi Hovsepian. For the residency program, selected artists receive a fully paid discovery trip to New York, an opportunity to experience the local art scene and build professional networks in the field. Our first resident, Meri Karapetyan held her first New York solo exhibiton at our gallery in 2023 and will be exhibiting at the Lyon Biennale opening on September 19, 2024. The second selection of the resident will be announced later this month.
To date, AHCP has exhibited 26 artists at two gallery locations in Manhattan and also curated a fundraiser exhibition for the Lebanese American University in New York. Of the 26 exhibited artists, 10 were born in Armenia and 6 in the Armenian diaspora (combined 62% Armenian), while the remaining 10 (38%) were of other nationalities. A total of 58% of the exhibited artists are female and 19% queer. In addition, 81% are artists of color (we consider Armenians to be people of color). The ages of our artists range from 20 to 75 years old.

Learn more about AHCP here: https://www.atamianhovsepian.art/about-us

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.atamianhovsepian.art/about-us
• Instagram: @atamianhovsepian
• Facebook: atamianhovsepian
• Youtube: atamianhovsepian