Armenians made in Georgia

The project aimed to document the Armenian traditions that generations of immigrants are still carrying today in Georgia and the impact of this culture on Armenians with Georgian nationality.

The migration of Armenian population to the Georgian lands begun in the Middle Ages, during the Muslim rule of Armenia. Armenians formed already then the single largest group of the Tbilisi‘s population in the 19th century. Not surprisingly, the Georgian capital became the center of cultural life of Armenians in the Russian Empire from early 19th century to early 20th century.
The persecution in the Ottoman Empire and Persia - which ended up into the Armenian genocide - caused a jump in the Armenian population until it reached about 40% of the city total. As of today, Armenians are still the largest ethnic minority in Tbilisi.
For all of these reasons, Armenians have left an incredibly rich cultural and architectural imprint in Georgia and Tbilisi itself, also based on the fact that much of the old city was built by Armenians.

This project aimed to document the traditions that generations of immigrants are still carrying together with the current impact of Armenian culture in the families and groups of ethnic Armenians with Georgian nationality. Religion, music and sense of community: what is left and what will remain?

Most of the photos were shot in Avlabari - the Armenian district of Tbilisi - long known as the center of Armenian life of Tbilisi, and Samtskhe-Javakheti, the southern region bordering on Armenia, where rural Armenian communities are compactly settled reaching up to 90% of the population.