The Paradjanov Museum...what a cool place! To me, it is one of Yerevan's most eclectic places of interest. It's like walking through a kaleidoscope...colorful, dissonant, and fragmented, yet rhythmic, beautiful, and unique at the same time. The Museum honors the life and work of Soviet director and artist Sergei Paradjanov. Paradjanov was born and raised in Tbilisi, Georgia, to Armenian parents. During the Soviet Era, he pushed society's boundaries through his meaningful but bizarre films and artwork. Some of his most famous films are The Color of Pomegranates, The Legend of Suram Fortress, Ashik Karib, and The Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors. As a result of his social unconformity (bisexualism, social realism, etc.), he was imprisoned a few times, sent to Siberia, and was just repeatedly punished throughout the course of his lifetime.
The Museum is located not far from the city center in a building that emulates Old Yerevan. It hosts a large collection of Paradjanov's eccentric anthropological collages, drawings, paintings, among other things. There are also screenings of some of his work as well. I strongly recommend visiting this museum and learning about one of the greatest and most interesting directors of the 21st century!
Find your way with 142 Insider Tips from our Local Spotters
It truly is a Soviet masterpiece considering its unique design and build: it is part metro station, part cavern and, once upon a time, part cafe.
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The "Open Air Cinema" in Yerevan in Moscow Cinema has a rich history, and Soviet ruin-porn enthusiasts can access the building all-year round, too!
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"Homeland Handycrafts" in Yerevan is a social enterprise designed to revive traditional Armenian crafts while employing the most vulnerable population...
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"Hanrapetutyan Street" in Yerevan is one of the most central in the city, yet there is so much to see here. The buildings are really beautiful and old...
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"Ardēan": a center for art, architecture and design that has its gallery shop on Abovyan street in Yerevan. I like how they combine technology & tradition.
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The "Mermaids of the Underground" in Yerevan is a sculpture from 1981. The mermaids wear nothing but their hair, which was quite unusual for its time...
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"Shengavit" is an impressive 6000-year-old settlement which is preserved even better than Yerevan's old town! It was an accidental discovery in the 1930s.
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The "Cross-stone Makers" in Yerevan follow a tradition that goes back to 879 AD. The masters' metal tools on the stone create a meditative sound for me...
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The "Komitas Museum" in Yerevan is one of my favorite ones in the city. It gets me thinking about what Armenian music really is about...
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"Melancholia" is a statue in Yerevan that truly expresses the feeling that has been increasingly affecting humankind in the last century...
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"Calumet Ethnic Lounge Bar": THE place for good music in Yerevan. I don't come as often as I'd like to because of the smoke, but it's a must at least once.
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