I am honored to participate in an April 10 commemoration for women affected by genocide to be held at the Armenian Museum of America and is co-sponsored by Facing History and Ourselves. The event will feature a lecture by Anna Aleksanyan of Clark University, as well as survivor testimonies from Bosnian Genocide survivor Edina Skaljic and Rwandan Genocide survivor Chantal Kayitesi.

The program will also feature musical performances by violinist Armen Ghazaryan and pianist Levon Hovsepian, as well as a special blended poetic musical piece with poetry written and performed by Frank Cunningham.

“By this accident of birth, my children thrive while others go hungry. How can this be? It’s not right.” Sonia

To coincide with the program, there will also be a number of guest exhibitions created and inspired by women who have experienced genocide; including selections from my series “Kindling“, “Pax Rwanda: Embroideries of the Women of Savane Rutongo-Kabuye,” curated by Juliana Meehan and Rutongo Embroideries, and “Every Stitch a Memory” by Netty Vanderpol.

All of these guest exhibitions, along with the museum’s “Stitching to Survive” and Traveling Genocide exhibits, will be available for viewing on the 3rd floor of the museum, in the Adele & Haig Der Manuelian and Terjenian-Thomas Galleries, 65 Main St., in Watertown.

The exhibitions will run for a few weeks after the event. For those that cannot make it in person, I’ve embedded a video I make for the Kindling series.