MONUMENTS
MEMORIAL TO AURORA MARDIGANIAN AND THE MARTYRS OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
2024
The memorial dedicated to Aurora Mardiganian
and the martyrs of the Armenian Genocide simultaneously reflects the horrors of
the Genocide and the power of survival. It represents women suffering on the
road to the desert of Deir-ez-Zor. Aurora, represented on the front of the
sculpture, stands out as a woman who
overcame death and shared her story with the world, becoming a symbol of
courage and survival for generations. The two edges of the sculpture are not
aligned—the distance between them allows the two stages of Aurora’s life - the path she
took and salvation in the United States to
connect through light and shadow.
The official opening ceremony of the
memorial took place on September 30, 2024. On the occasion of the day, the
manuscript the “Chronicles of
Aurora” was specially taken out of the Matenadaran and exhibited, the last page
of which is illustrated by the sculpture. The “Chronicles of Aurora” is the first manuscript created in the
Matenadaran in the 21st century, dedicated to the history and activities of the
Aurora Humanitarian Initiative.
Soil
from Aurora Mardiganian’s resting place in Los Angeles, California, in the
United States, along with a relic from the victims of the Deir ez-Zor desert
brought from Antelias, Lebanon, have been placed beneath this monument.
