15th Anniversary of Armenian Independence Marked in Montreal

In celebration of the Independence Day of Armenia the Embassy of Armenia and a number of Canadian-Armenian organizations organized an exhibition entitled “The Voice of the Caravans”, featuring works by a talented Canadian-Armenian artist, Perouz Seferian.

The opening ceremony and reception took place in Montreal on October 1, 2006, in the Armenian General Benevolent Union’s Girair and Elise Dervishian Hall.

Honouring the reception were Hon. Nicole Demers, Member of Canadian Parliament, Mr. Alain de Sousa, Mayor of St. Laurent, Mrs. Noushig Eloyan, municipal counsellor and leader of opposition, Mrs. Jocelyn Ann Campbell, municipal counsellor, other officials and members of diplomatic corps.

Present at the reception were also Archbishop Khajag Hagopian, Prelate of the Armenian Prelacy of Canada, Bishop Bagrat Galstanian, Primate of the Diocese of the Armenian Church of Canada, Very Rev. Mher Khachikian, representative of the Armenian Evangelical Church, heads of Armenian organizations of Canada and media representatives.

The exhibition was officially opened by Mr. Arman Akopian, Charge d’Affaires of the Republic of Armenia in Canada. In his address Mr. Akopian stressed the positive and optimistic message of Mrs. Seferian’s art. He said that he was very proud to see that the Armenian community of Canada so abundantly produces talented intellectuals and gifted artists.

Taking the podium, Mrs. Seferian spoke about the influence of her father’s memories, a survivor of the Genocide, on her art, about her vision of the role of visual arts in preserving the memory of Armenian innocent martyrs of 1915.

The guests of the opening ceremony highly commended the talent of Mrs. Seferian. Mrs. Nicole Demers said that the works on display should be available to broader public.