ArmeniaNow A national gallery will soon be opened in Stepanakert, Nagorno-Karabakh, where more than 300 works, belonging to both Armenian and foreign artists will be exhibited.

This idea belongs to Moscow-based philanthropist, academician Grigor Gabrieliants, who has donated the whole collection of his paintings to the future gallery.

“National galleries are the jewels of any capital and I think that Nagorno-Karabakh also has the right of having one. When I was thinking about this idea and was about to implement it, I was led by the credo that ‘Culture is immortal’,” says Gabrieliants, who is a geologist by profession.

Gabrieliants’ idea is supported by his friends, by well-known artists, by Armenia’s Artists’ Union and by the Ministry of Culture of Armenia. The Stepanakert National Gallery will host works from Mongolia, Turkey, the United States, Egypt, France, Mexico and other countries. Works by famous Armenian artists Martiros Saryan, Minas Avetisyan and others will be a great contribution to the collection.

Gabrieliants says the promotion of culture is very important for any country, and in terms of national values perhaps as important as the development of economy.

Armenia’s Artists’ Union will donate to the Stepanakert National Gallery about 100 pieces of art from its archive.

“New artists keep joining us, and the amount of donations increases. Yerevan-based ‘Arame’, ‘Academia’ and ‘Shedevr’ art galleries have also joined us. I believe that quite an impressive collection is being created at the gallery, a very rich museum will be founded there,” says head of Armenia’s Artists’ Union Karen Aghamyan.

Before consigning the paintings, Gabrieliants discussed the issue with President of Nagorno-Karabakh Bako Sahakyan, who promised to help and expressed his readiness to find a home for the gallery.

“The gallery will be in the center of Stepanakert, options are being discussed now,” Gabrieliants says.