On May 24, 2017, at the initiative of the Ministry of Diaspora of the Republic of Armenia and with the support of the Armenian Diocese in Georgia, the Dolls Gallery hosted the solemn opening ceremony of Georgian-Armenian artist Armen Hovhannisyan’s personal exhibition called “World of Dolls”.

In the hall were placed highly recognizable heroes of different ages, status and posture, of different epoch, faiths and nationalities, characters from films and books. Puppets created by rich imagination and skillful hands of Armen Hovhannisyan, who is a poet, artist and puppeteer at once, were put on public display.
Attendees looked at familiar images turned into dolls with undisguised amazement and admiration, love and respect.
To this day, Armen has created over 200 dolls and has been able to showcase his best works to art lovers during events and exhibitions held in Georgia and other countries. Armen Hovhannisyan’s creative process represents an incredibly meticulous and precise work, devoid of excess and unnecessary details, which begins with clay and gypsum, gradually takes shape, and thanks to the skillful creativity of artist becomes a character and is dressed as a puppet’s hero.
Greeting the attendees, the Doll Gallery’s artistic director Marina Khachmanukyan noted that it was more than a festive day for her since it was the first time the Gallery was hosting a personal exhibition.
Transmitting the welcoming speech of Acting Minister of Diaspora of the Republic of Armenia Hranush Hakobyan, Deputy Minister Serzh Srapionyan emphasized that Armen Hovhannisyan’s dolls were “completely Armenian”. Living and working in Tbilisi, which was once the center for Armenian culture, Armen has expressed himself in doll-making. The Deputy Minister noted that the exhibition was a unique expression of the Armenian-Georgian friendship since the collection of Armen’s vivid dolls was being showcased in the Homeland and was presented to the Armenian audience in the colors that were characteristic of Tbilisi.
Serzh Srapionyan granted the certificate of the Ministry of Diaspora of the Republic of Armenia to Armen Hovhannisyan for his contributions to the development and dissemination of Armenian culture within the Armenian community of Georgia and on the occasion of his 30th birthday.
In his speech, Director of the Hayartun Educational, Cultural and Youth Center (adjunct to the Armenian Diocese in Georgia) Levon Chidilyan noted that Armen’s exhibition was symbolic and showed that there are new Georgian-Armenian talents. He added that Armen would be turning his big dream of creating a doll theater into a reality soon.
Expressing gratitude to the RA Ministry of Diaspora for helping organize the exhibition, Primate of the Armenian Diocese in Georgia, His Grace Bishop Vazgen Mirzakhanyan said the following: “I think all dolls are nice. This gallery took us back to our childhood. Armen Hovhannisyan is also a poet and has written wonderful poems. His dolls have also charmed Georgians and attracted their attention. They are also showcased in Georgian and Armenian doll museums.”
At the end, Armen Hovhannisyan gave a speech in which he expressed gratitude to the organizers for presenting his works in Yerevan and read one of his poems.
The exhibition will run until May 27.