LOS ANGELES–A delegation comprised of representative from the Armenian National Committee of America-Western Region and the Western Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church traveled to Sacramento Monday to participate in the opening ceremony reception of the Armenian Genocide Photo Exhibit–which is being shown in the Rotunda of the State Capitol Building.
The Exhibit–which was unveiled for the first time last month at the Henry Rio Bridge Gallery located in the Los Angeles City Hall–was moved to the State Capitol at the end of April and was scheduled to remain up until Friday. State Assemblymember Scott Wildman from the 43rd District of California–which includes Glendale–Burbank–and part of Los Angeles and Lost Feliz–along with his staff–worked long hours to realize this exhibit–as well as reserve the Capitol Rotunda.
"Our office has received numerous calls from Members of the Legislature and their staff informing us of how moved they were by these extraordinary photographs," stated Sunday Sarkisian–Field-Representative for Wildman. "In fact–last week we received a call from a prominent local reporter who said that he has never seen a Capitol Rotunda exhibit so completely captivate both visitors to the building and Members of the State Legislature," concluded Sarkisian.
In addition to Assemblyman Wildman–Assemblymembers Chuck Poochigian–Elaine Alquist–Jack Scott and Senator Adam Schiff were present to greet the visitors and view the exhibit.
After a reception–Right Rev. Moushegh Mardirossian–Prelate of the Western Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church–was afforded the honor of providing the morning prayer prior to the commencement of the day’s session of the State Assembly.
The exhibit–generously sponsored by Richard and Tina Carolan and produced by the joint efforts of the Genocide Awareness Project and the ANCA-WR–consists of powerful past and present images of the Armenian Genocide. The Genocide survivor’s photographs were taken by prominent photographers Ara Oshagan and Levon Parian as part of the their larger effort to carefully preserve and document the stories and images from the Armenian Genocide.
"The ANCA-WR extends its heartfelt appreciation to Assemblyman Wildman and his staff–especially Sunday Sarkisian and Greg Campbell–for their unwavering commitment to the success of this project," stated ANCA-WR Chairman Armand Keosian–"adding Assemblyman Wildman to an already impressive array of influential supporters–such as Chuck Poochigian–in the State Legislature provides the Armenian-American community with a strong core of advocates in Sacramento," explained Keosian.
"During our brief stay in Sacramento–I was pleasantly surprised and–quite frankly–touched to see so many visitors to our State Capitol drawn to these provocative photos of the Armenian Genocide," concluded Keosian.
ANCA-WR and Western Prelacy representatives attending the opening reception included Right Rev. Mousheg Mardirossian–Right Rev. Papken Tcharian of Saint Gregory’s Church in San Francisco–ANCA-WR Chairman Armand Keosian–ANCA-WR Board members–Hovhaness Boghossian and Avo Donoyan–ANC Hollywood member Armine Koundakjian–ANC-San Francisco member Garbis Bezdjian–Western Prelacy Treasurer Vahik Satoorian and ANCA-WR Executive Director Vicken Sonentz-Papazian.