Araksya Sarukhanyan was born in Vanadzor but now lives in Vienna. She works at one of the best museums in the city. Aravot Daily interviewed Araksya for her success story as part of the Femini series.
Araksya moved to Europe when she was 24. She said that she hasn’t fully adapted because it seems as if one foot is in Armenia and the other is in Austria. “My homeland is Armenia. My family raised me to be an Armenian first. I don’t feel like I’m at home here, but I also don’t feel like I’m at home in Armenia. I am simply great at working as part of a team, which I think is what helped me to adapt, especially since I do not create difficulties.”
Araksya works at a museum in Vienna, but she said that the last time she was at a museum in Armenia was in 2002. She hopes that a lot has changed and developed since then. Regarding museums in Europe, she said that they do not shy away from spending money on their employees. Every type of employee is respected and appreciated there. The museums are guarded very well and even the conditions for maintaining the artifacts are of superior standards.
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She also spoke about her work at the museums. Araksya Sarukhanyan said that she never hides where she comes from and she proudly displays her name and last name on her nametag, unlike some people who introduce themselves by different names. “Many people approach me and say that they have been to my country, they’ve been to Khor Virap or some other church… Recently, a group from Germany came. When they found out that I’m Armenian, they told me how impressed they were by Gyumri. Another visitor said that they are preparing to spend Easter in Armenia. At one point, I was Aram Khachatryan’s representative. I told everyone what a wonderful composer he was. The visitors at our museum are doctors, architects, and other educated people. Someone was telling me that Gothic architecture was based on Armenian architecture. They even wanted my e-mail address so they could send me links to articles on that subject. How can I not be proud when my coworkers hear about that?” Araksya said.
She said that she loves to read fiction. She most recently read The Bastard of Istanbul by Elif Shafak, and before that, she read Franz Werfel’s The Forty Days of Musa Dagh, which she had also read when she was much younger. “Since I live in Werfel’s country, I thought that I needed to read his book again.” She is said that she does not have the time to read more often since becoming a mother.
She also spoke about her son, Emmanuel, whose father is Austrian. “I think that being an Armenian is much more important for him. He considers himself to be an Armenian and he believes that he is 100 percent Armenian, 100 percent Austrian. I am trying to raise him that way so that he does not believe that he’s half-Armenian, half-Austrian. I tell him to hold onto things that he likes about Armenians and the same for Austrians. You are the one to decide who you are. Recently, someone asked him where he’s from and if he’s Italian. Emmanuel said that he’s Armenian, but his father is Austrian. That was a surprise for me. That was the first time I heard such a response from him because he never spoke about where he was from until he was five. I think that children are smart and they take what’s right for them from two cultures,” Araksya said.
We asked her if she considers herself to be a successful person. “I do consider myself to be successful, but I do not think that it’s automatic or something that I did myself. God is with me and it is thanks to him that I am successful. I think that God is kind and I am safe.”
Gohar Hakobyan
