INFORMATION FOR
The Armenian Genocide: One Family’s Story is on view in the First Floor Reference Area of the Cheng Library at William Paterson University in Wayne through May 14, 2025. Library hours through December 14, 2024 are Monday through Thursday, 7:45 a.m. to 11:45 p.m., Friday, 7:45 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., Saturday, 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., and Sunday, 12:00 p.m. to 11:45 p.m. The library will be open 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, November 27 and closed November 28 to 30. Call 973-720-2541 to confirm hours. Admission is free.
This exhibition and related programming is a collaborative effort between William Paterson’s University Galleries, Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies, and Cheng Library to increase universal awareness of the Armenian Genocide, and to inspire individual reflection on the concept of postmemory, or the relationship that each generation bears to the personal, collective, and cultural trauma of those who came before us.
An introduction to the exhibition will be provided via Zoom on Thursday, September 19, from 4:00 to 5:00 p.m., with Professor Alison Dobrick, director of the Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies, Casey Mathern, director of the University Galleries, and special guests including Susan Arpajian Jolley and exhibition advisor Cynthia Ruggerio. An opening reception will include the screening of a new documentary film about the exhibition and will be held on Wednesday, September 25, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:45 p.m, in the Cheng Library. Additional programming will be announced; please check the University Galleries website for updated information.
One Family’s Story traces the journey of Arek and Moses Zakarian from the turn of the 20th century during the Ottoman Empire through genocide, survival, migration, and reemergence in the United States. Visitors will engage with the family’s personal photos, memoirs, musical instruments, artifacts, and artwork which serve as a backdrop to the broader history of the Armenian Genocide.The exhibition is made possible through donations by the Zakarian grandchildren, led by Susan Arpajian Jolley and Allan Arpajian, who also served as family history and cultural consultants for the exhibition. As Susan and Allan explain, “The Zakarian experience mirrors the human condition, which for all of us contains degrees of tragedy and triumph, trauma and recovery. We invite you to reflect also on your own family’s history and experiences, and our common humanity.”
One Family’s Story is also made possible through the support at Stockton University of the Armenian Studies Initiative, the Master of Arts in Holocaust and Genocide Studies, the Sara and Sam Schoffer Holocaust Resource Center, the Refugee Studies Initiative, the Richard E. Bjork Library, and the School of General Studies and Graduate Education. Other contributions include curation and installation design by Ryann Casey, scholarly advisement and genocide studies content by Cynthia Ruggerio, and project oversight by Dr. Raz Segal, director of the Master of Arts in Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Stockton University.
The exhibition was first shown in 2022 at the Richard E. Bjork Library at Stockton University in Galloway, NJ. The exhibition traveled to the College for Engaged Learning at Montclair State University where it was hosted in the ADP Center for Learning Technologies in Montclair, NJ, followed by the Center for Holocaust and Genocide Education at St. Elizabeth University, in Morristown, NJ. One Family’s Story will continue on to more college and university libraries around New Jersey, where legislators have recognized the Armenian Genocide on the state and local level, as well as recent attacks against civilians in the Republic of Artsakh (SCR.71).
The exhibition is one of three presented concurrently by the University Galleries. One Family’s Story is bookended by Before, After: Reflections on the Armenian Genocide, on view through December 4, 2024 in the South Gallery and East Gallery, Ben Shahn Center for the Visual Arts. This exhibition of recent work by contemporary Armenian and Armenian American artists traces generations of resiliency through the common threads of loss and survival. The exhibition examines connections passed down through blood, migration, and history, from genocide to diaspora to belonging. Artists John Avakian, Anush Babajanyan, Silvina Der-Meguerditchian, Vahagn Ghukasyan, Jackie Kazarian, Diana Markosian, Talin Megherian, Marsha Nouritza Odabashian, Ara Oshagan and Levon Parian, Jessica Sperandio, Scout Tufankjian, and Mary Zakarian integrate artifact with abstraction, witness accounts with recreation, old materials reused, and new molds made.
Also on view is the Faculty Exhibition 2024 in the Court Gallery through December 4, 2024. This exhibition features work by faculty who teach animation, drawing, digital art, textile design, painting, photography, and sculpture. The works in the exhibit reveal the faculty’s unique artistic practices as they innovate across diverse media. Faculty artists included in the exhibition are Seth Bechtold, Miriam Bisceglia, Cristina De Gennaro, Andrea Geller, Ashley Gerst, Marsha Goldberg, Diane LaFranca, Leslie Nobler, Michael Rees, Anna Carina Sinocchi, and Papa Gora Tall.
The William Paterson University Galleries are wheelchair-accessible. Large-print educational materials are available. For additional information, please call the William Paterson University Galleries at 973-720-2654.
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