The International Art Museum of America (IAMA) is honored to present \u201cLive by Loving\u201d, a deeply moving exhibition by Armenian photographer Zaven Khachikyan. Organized in collaboration with the Golden Gate Armenian Film Festival in San Francisco and generously supported by the Strobia Foundation, the exhibition reflects the lives of families displaced from Artsakh after the 2020 war. Khachikyan\u2019s lens captures not only the stark realities of half-empty, half-destroyed dwellings but also the fragile threads of hope that persist within them. A carpet hanging on the wall and family photographs preserved against the odds\u2014these seemingly ordinary objects become luminous anchors of memory, connecting people to their past and offering a fragile sense of continuity in the midst of upheaval.<\/p>\n
Visitors have responded with profound emotion. Standing before the carpet and photographs, one reflected that the woven patterns felt like veins of memory, soft yet unyielding, while the family photos testified that warmth once lived in those homes. In rooms now cold and fractured, these objects became the only lights still glowing. Another visitor was moved by the image of a child kissing another child, a fleeting tenderness blooming in the midst of war, and by the boy shielding himself behind two white pigeons\u2014symbols of peace and innocence, fragile yet fiercely guarded. These moments, unfinished yet full of love and hope, invite us to witness, understand, and respond.<\/p>\n
Khachikyan himself describes his work as a dialogue in silence. \u201cA poor person\u2019s daily life is not cluttered with unnecessary, expensive objects. When we appear on opposite sides of the camera, we are participants in the same modern ritual, speaking in the language of silence. This is the most international, most human language. I simply call myself a photographer, and the person I encounter\u2014a storyteller. Sometimes the storyteller may be a tree, a mountain, or a cloud.\u201d For him, Live by Loving is a call to transformation: to become the one standing before you, and through them, return to your own inner self, to lovingly rearrange your home, your people, your childhood.<\/p>\n
The exhibition also serves as guidance for new generations of photographers. Khachikyan advises them to first clarify their genre\u2014whether journalism, literary-philosophical expression, or pure photography\u2014and then to remain honest and continue observing life with patience and compassion. His own career exemplifies this ethos. Born in Meghri in 1955, Khachikyan is widely recognized as Armenia\u2019s leading documentary and artistic photographer, trained in physics, philosophy, and fine arts. His work has appeared in major Armenian publications and international outlets such as AP, TASS, Time, and Paris Match. A pioneer of commercial photography in Armenia, he introduced high production values and a signature style to advertising and public campaigns, while also founding cultural and educational initiatives including the East-West Intercultural Relations Center and youth photography programs supported by the Eurasia Foundation, OSI, and UNICEF. His projects have been exhibited across Europe, Armenia, Russia, and the United States, including the notable Crossing Borders Between Turkey and Armenia project, and he has earned honors such as Armenia\u2019s Best Photojournalist of the Year and the Presidential Award.<\/p>\n
Today, Khachikyan remains a leading figure in international photography, known for his strong narrative voice and innovative techniques. \u201cLive by Loving\u201d is not only a collection of photographs but a call to empathy, a reminder that even within fractured homes, love and warmth endure. To extend this experience beyond the museum walls, IAMA now offers a 3D virtual tour of the exhibition, available at iamasf.org. This immersive online experience invites audiences worldwide to pause, reflect, and take
\npart in this act of compassion. Through Khachikyan\u2019s vision, we are reminded that to live by loving is to transform, to connect, and to carry forward the fragile yet enduring light of humanity.<\/p>\n
Direct link to the 3D tour of \u201cLive by Loving\u201d on the International Art Museum of America\u2019s website: Explore the exhibition here.<\/a>
\nFor readers who wish to explore more about the artist\u2019s life and career, visit Zaven Khachikyan\u2019s official biography at https:\/\/zavenkhachikyan.com\/biography\/<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The International Art Museum of America (IAMA) is honored to present \u201cLive by Loving\u201d, a deeply moving exhibition by Armenian photographer Zaven Khachikyan. Organized in collaboration with the Golden Gate…","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":2071,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2264","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n