The Armenian Weekly. The Weekly is once again proud to feature Cambridge-based artist, children’s book author and St. Stephen’s Armenian Elementary School teacher Alik Arzoumanian. She recently submitted this delightfully detailed and vibrant depiction of Watertown, Massachusetts to the ‘Mapping Special Places’ contest organized by They Draw and Travel. Arzoumanian’s “Little Armenia,” which featured our very own Hairenik building on Bigelow Avenue, was among 317 contest entries and was recognized as a finalist in the top 50. It will be included in an upcoming publication by They Draw and Travel, which will be available in early 2020.
This place is special to me because it’s where I find all the ingredients for my favorite Armenian and Middle Eastern meals. It’s where my kids go to school and learn our language, history and culture. It’s where I teach, where I bump into friends, where I overhear old men discuss politics in Western Armenian, a language UNESCO has classified as endangered. It’s where newspapers are edited, holidays are celebrated, weddings, baptisms, funerals are conducted. Little Armenia is just a few blocks in a small town, but it’s my home away from home.
