Requiem and Memorial Service

Edward Balassanian, co-founder of the Armenian Center for Contemporary Experimental Art NPAK, passed away on September 3.

Forty days after his passing, a memorial service will be held on October 12, at 16:00, at Yerevan St. Grigor Lusavorich Mother Church. Following the service, we invite you to join us at NPAK at 17:00 to honor the memory of this great cultural figure and devoted supporter of the arts.

Family members, friends, artists, and architects will be in attendance to share their memories of Edward Balassanian.

Mourners: Sonia Balassanian, Arne Zareh Balassanian, Zareh Balassanian, and the Adjemian, Azadian, Amirian, Ashughian, Azizian, Hakobian, Petrosian, Zohrabeian families and relatives, NPAK staff.

Edward Balassanian

Co-founder of the Armenian Center for Contemporary Experimental Art
(NPAK).

Born in Iran in 1936, Edward Balassanian received a degree in architecture from the University of Tehran (1963), a Master’s in Urban Planning (1968), and a Doctorate in Philosophy (1975) in urban planning and spatial development from the University of Pennsylvania, USA.

In 1980, Balassanian moved to the United States with his family. He became President of the Board of the Armenian Assembly of America in Washington in 1992. From 1993 to 1995, he served in Yerevan as the Deputy Director and Head of the Construction Department of the Armenia All-Armenian Fund.

In 1996, he assumed the position of Executive Director of the Armenia Foundation USA. From 1997 to 1998, he served as the Executive Director of the Armenian Leadership Council of Eastern America in New York.

In 1992, together with his wife, artist-poet Sonia Balassanian, he founded the Armenian Center for Contemporary Experimental Art in Yerevan, dedicated to presenting Armenian avant-garde art on international stages.

Since 1995, under the direction of Armenia’s Ministry of Culture, the Edward Balassanian
organized Armenia’s pavilions at the Venice Biennale through the National Art Association, a role they continued until 2009.

Starting in September 1998, at the request of Karekin I, the Catholicos of All Armenians,
Edward Balassanian directed the construction of St. Grigor Lusavorich Mother Church in Yerevan, which was completed in 2001 to mark the 1700th anniversary of Armenia’s adoption of Christianity.

From 2002 to 2009, Balassanian took on the duties of Executive Director of the Yerevan Cascade complex and the adjacent art museum, a project funded by national philanthropist Gerard L. Cafesjian.