On the territory of the former Dilijan garment factory Karifabrika, which will be transformed into a multifunctional cultural and production cluster, a group of freelance artists – Garegin Harutyunyan (GaReggin) and Harutyun Aghabalyan – created the first mural* in the town as a tribute to the people who worked for many years within the walls sewing production.
According to the authors of the mural, as soon as they first learned about the idea of a cultural cluster, they wanted to visit the place where such an ambitious and important project is being created.
When they saw the space of the former workshops, the idea of creating art came almost immediately. For the plot of the mural, the artists wanted to know the past of the factory. Subsequent acquaintance with the stories of people whose lives and work related to this place served as inspiration for further work.
According to the artists, they were not obliged to recreate real photographic images of workers. Garegin said, “the uniforms might appear a bit chic and from different eras, however, we wanted to accentuate the fact that everyday work has had some more significant meaning rather than a workplace. This was obvious from the many stories collected during the interviews.”
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Aside from the uniformed people present in the mural, a large, red ball of thread is visible. This ball represents the eternal life cycle – symbolic of the past, present and future of Karifabrika.
Garegin and Harutyun created their art piece on the exterior wall of a building which faces the front elevation of the future culture hub. The building was previously used as an administration unit, with staff working in shifts into the night. According to the artists, this building ideally fitted their plans to create a large mural which would span a three-storey building. Garegin and Harutyun comment that, “the team from the future culture cluster greatly welcomed our initiative and supported us in every possible way. We also felt a warm welcome from the neighbours: one supported it technically; another one brought hot tea and told us more stories about the factory and its very lively atmosphere.”
The artists hope this initiative will inspire other Armenian artists to create new murals in Dilijan and across the country.
*Monumental art or muralism is a type of monumental art, painted on buildings and stationary grounds. The term ‘mural’ is being used to describe this type of art works. The work mural originates from the word wall-painting.
Karifabrika
The Dilijan textile factory and its adjacent area are planned to be transformed into a modern multi-functional space to host the co-location of enterprises and individuals. The project is focused on the development of small business and creative industries with the involvement of residents of Dilijan and Tavush region.
The EU-funded project is implemented by Dilijan Municipality in partnership (and co-funding) with IDeA Foundation, Tourism and Urbanism Foundation and Dilijan Community Center. The Project is implemented in the framework of the EU regional “Mayors for Economic Growth” Facility.
On three floors of Karifabrika, with a total area of more than 3,500 sq.m., there will be located: workshops of local manufacturers, a library, showrooms, cafes, coworking, a business incubator, a media lab, a hostel, recreational areas, etc.
The aim of the project is to enhance economic growth and job creation in the enlarged Dilijan community, stimulate business development, invest in hard and soft infrastructure, exploring new business opportunities that can have a catalytic and systemic effect.
