IANYAN Magazine

By Liana Aghajanian • September 5th, 2010

While it dates back thousands of years, with notable authors including Hovaness Toumanyan and Gostan Zarian, Armenian literature has largely remained overlooked by the international community, but that might be changing in 2012, when Armenia’s capital city Yerevan will hold the title of  UNESCO World Book Capital.
Granted by the International Publishers Association (IPA), the International [...]

Boston.com’s the Big Picture is one of the most awe-inspiring and breathtaking  photo series on the web. So when the site recently publishing an amazing look at Russia in color, a century ago, by 19th century photographer Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii, we were tempted to do our own reoccurring photo show.
Below you will find various [...]

Los Angeles-based artist Ana Bagayan’s detailed and delectable illustrations evoke more emotion than meets the eye. From her haunting portraits of soul searching girls to her surreal depictions of animals, Bagayan,  who was born in Armenia and  moved to America in 1990 has a talent can be seen even before her paintings are finished - [...]

With Armenians making up almost 30 percent of Glendale’s population according to the 2000 U.S. Census, many of them recent immigrants, Times Community Editor Dan Evans wanted to offer something more to the community. So when Google Translate added Armenian to its impressive language lineup, he jumped at the chance to give it a try [...]

With its intricate carvings and detailed designs, the khachkar, or cross-stone, has been an Armenian symbol for centuries. The cross-bearing rocks can be found throughout the country, erected in graveyards or engraved in church walls or standing freely outside of homes or monuments. They represent Armenia’s special history as being the first Christian nation, a [...]

After all the glitz and money poured into the Europe’s most glamorous event, which commenced after two semi-finals and an almost four hour long finale, Germany’s cute, eccentric Lena took the top spot with her song “Satellite,” followed by Turkey’s rock group maNga and Romania’s infectious duo Ovi and Paula Seling. All the apricot stones [...]

It’s a shame that most Americans don’t know about the most glorious singing contest in the world that outshines franchises like American Idol and X Factor by a million sequined outfits and shiny gold suits : Eurovision.
With two semi-finals this week reducing the 39 countries participating in the May 29th final in Oslo to 25, [...]

Kitsch lyrics, super sleek pop stars in shiny outfits that can be seen planets away and the silent sound of oozing cheese can only mean one thing in the spring time: Eurovision is here.
Yes, the best and worst (well, maybe just the worst) of 39 countries have gathered for another year of frills and thrills, [...]

With such a large Armenian population, having just one Armenian Festival in Los Angeles is impossible. In true Armenian fashion, it was Pasadena’s turn to play host to a two-day cultural event that featured arts, crafts, culture and food.
Hosted by  DJ, author and World Music expert Tom Schnabel of  popular independent radio station KCRW fame, [...]

The music industry has evolved so dramatically over the last few decades that everything - from back up singers to digital voice enhancement - enables anyone from squeaky clean Disney stars to A-list celebrities to prove their vocal worth to the world.
While voices get altered, replaced and even lost in their background music, there are [...]