Students to Produce Web Content for Houshamadyan Website
2013-05-30
News
Throughout July, Tumo students will embark on developing web content on the history of the Armenians in the Ottoman Empire.
Working with historians Vahe Tachjian and Elke Hartmann, directors of the web based project, "houshamadyan," a project to reconstruct Ottoman Armenian town and village life, students will develop different skills in the field of investigation, reconstructing memory, storytelling and story writing.
The workshop "Objects that tell stories" intends to create a space where Tumo students can learn how to ask the right questions, and produce content modules for the web. The students will collect oral history interviews, old songs and memory items (old photos, books, utensils, clothes, etc.) in relation to Ottoman Armenians from their own homes, or from relatives or neighbor’s families.
During the second part of the workshop, using the collected objects and stories, the students will prepare visual products for the site under the guidance of the artistic director of "houshamadyan," visual artist, Silvina Der-Meguerditchian. Participants will learn how to document visually recollected objects, work in photograph restoration, produce podcasts and short animation pieces. The final goal wil be to create material that will be published on a page on the houshamadyan website, which will feature its collaboration with Tumo.
About the workshop leaders
Vahé Tachjian is a historian. Born in Lebanon he earned his Ph.D. in History and Civilization at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (EHESS) in Paris. He is the author of many academic articles and books. He is now the project director and the chief editor of the houshamdyan website (based in Berlin) whose aim is to reconstruct the Ottoman Armenians’ local history and the memory of their lives.
Elke Hartmann, historian, Ottomanist. She has studied history and Middle Eastern/Islamic Studies at Freie Universitaet Berlin, Germany. Specializing in Ottoman and Western Armenian history of the 19th end early 20th century, she has done extensive research in the Ottoman State Archives adding to her use of a variety of Armenian sources. She is the chairman of the houshamdyan association based in Berlin.
Silvina Der-Meguerditchian was born and raised in Argentina. Since 1988 she lives in Berlin. In her artistic research she deals with issues related to the burden of national identity, memory, the role of minorities in the society and the potential of a space "in between." Her work has a very heterogeneous language (installation, video, sound installation, audiowalk, rugs, bi-dimensional image, etc.). It was displayed internationally in institutions and galleries. She is an initiator of the platform for Armenian artists UnderConstruction and since 2010 an artistic director of houshamadyan.org.