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BADGUER - A WINDOW INTO BURJ HAMMOUD
Now.MMedia
Sept 8 2013
The result of a long history
NATHALIE ROSA BUCHER
September 8, 2013
Amid Burj Hammoud's narrow alleys - lined with shops and workshops,
bustling with pedestrians and children on bicycles, and strung overhead
with Armenian flags, electric wires, and washing lines - Badgučr stands
out like an oasis. Dating back to 1930, this pink house near the Beirut
River is a promotional center for artisans and creativity, the ground
floor of which is home to authentic and delicious Armenian cuisine
comprised of carefully prepared dishes from traditional recipes.
The two-storey house includes exhibition venues, a boutique for
artistic creations and handcrafts, conference and training rooms,
a guest room to host master artisan trainers or for residencies,
and an outdoor terrace. The dining room is spacious and bright with
cozy tables covered with crocheted tablecloths. Rugs are displayed
on the walls and on the right hand side is a piano.
In the room adjacent to the restaurant visitors can watch a film about
Burj Hammoud's artisans. Upstairs, exquisite Armenian needlework,
crochet creations, knitted slippers and jewelry are on display,
some dating back decades.
The house, which functions like a rhizome, is the brainchild of Arpine
Mangassian, who is known by everyone as Arpi.
"I wanted to create links," Mangassian says of her motivation in
setting up Badgučr (which means 'image' or 'photograph' in Armenian.)
"Keeping to ourselves will be a disservice; we need to engage, we
need to open windows, create passages to make people curious [about
Burj Hammoud]."
Badgučr is the result of a long journey. "I had this dream; I knew
that this area had big potential socially, and regarding its artisanal
work. In our culture we used to feel proud of our accomplishments,
including cultural ones. We've always been creators and I wanted to
demonstrate this creative output."
The realization of Mangassian's dream began in 2009, when she was
invited to take part in in a special edition of the Agenda Culturel
focusing specifically on Burj Hammoud. She began receiving requests to
bring artisans to exhibitions and to do live demonstrations. "After a
series of exhibitions, I was lucky. My uncle gave me a gift and with
that the family could buy and renovate this house."
Often hiding behind non-descript shop fronts across the Armenian
neighborhood are jewelers, hat and bag makers, tailors, shoemakers,
ceramicists, medal carvers, blacksmiths, locksmiths, and setters. The
area also abounds in repair shops. "If something's broken, people
tend to say: 'go to Burj Hammoud, they can fix it,'" Houry Ellezian,
a friend of Mangassian said. "We became famous for fixing things. We
never threw anything away, always kept stuff. We were the early
recyclers."
Once a wetland, Burj Hammoud's history as neighborhood dates back to
the 1920s, when it became the stopping point for Armenian refugees
who had managed to survive the genocide and escape its Turkish
perpetrators. Mangassian's 92-year old father Noubar was born in
Aleppo, after his mother crossed deserts and plains on foot for
seven-months until reaching the Syrian border. A fixture at Badgučr,
Mangassian senior showed NOW a painting he made as a young man ofMother
Armenia, which is now on display in the restaurant area.
Carole Corm writes in her book Beirut: A guide to the city that "Burj
Hammoud would become the refugees' enduring home with two-, three-and
four-story buildings, planned on a linear grid, gradually replacing
tents and wooden barracks...Armenian newspapers, social clubs,
schools and political parties developed over the span of a generation.
Bustling with activity, it is the industrial heart of the capital."
The tour Mangassian and Ellezian gave NOW first stopped at the
Aprahamian Factory, which was established 60 years ago, supplying
local stores and exporting quality leather shoes to Africa and the
Gulf. Ellezian had bought shoes for her son's prom there.
Vahe Mitilian, grandson of Lido Shoes' founder, showed NOW a room
filled with leather swatches, prototypes and tools, where the latest
winter production was lined up. "So many pieces have to come together,"
Mitilian explained, opening a tinted glass cabinet filled with a range
of silver-studded high heels posing next to vertiginous stilettos
in leather and artificial materials. "Designing a new shoe is a
long process."
Nearby a few men, each seated at their workstation, engaged in various
stages of this undertaking. Mitilian's uncle Viken popped his head
through the door holding an 18cm stiletto: "The shoe will carry the
body and the body will carry the rest," he said.
Next up was a visit to the goldsmith Kevork Kazanjian, who as the
teenage son of a diamond setter was sent to do an apprenticeship
with well-known Armenian goldsmith Busant Shublakian. Kazanjian
now sells his creations to shops in Lebanon, and works for private
clients at home and abroad. He displayed some finely crafted pendants
with precious stones inset as well as an antique gold ring on his
office desk.
Mangassian vividly recalls how as children she and her brother would
marvel at the giant cinema poster on display at Beirut's Rivoli Cinema,
without fail signed 'Havarian,' making the two feel proud.
During Lebanese cinema's golden age, the three Havarian brothers used
to paint large, unique posters for theaters all over Lebanon. Yervant
Havarian's eyes lit up when talking about a 40x10m poster he painted
in his small workshop for a James Bond movie, which once complete was
mounted on the Concorde Centre in Verdun. "It is due to this poster
that they had the best box offices sales ever. It hasn't been topped
until today," he said. "I loved my job and did it with passion and
I loved the cinema." Havarian now primarily paints religious oil
paintings for churches.
Mangassian currently serves as head of architecture and urban planning
for the Burj Hammoud's municipality. In her office is a painting
carrying the dedication: "For Arpi, who carries her name well and
illuminates the whole of Burj Hammoud." Arpi means 'sun' in Armenian.
Mangassian sees her role as an intermediary. "The aim of Badgučr is
to make their work known and connect the artisans with people who
will appreciate their artisanship."
Badgučr is window into a world of highly skilled artisans, who gave
their families a new life in Lebanon while preserving skills passed
down by their fathers and forefathers. It is bound to change the way
visitors look at a story infused with trauma, resilience, creativity,
and spirit.
Beyond that, it also offers insight into Armenian culture, which to
Mangassian is a component of that rich Lebanese culture in which she
firmly believes.
For more information call 01 240 214 or 03 652 235 or consult Badgučr's
Facebook page.
https://now.mmedia.me/lb/en/features/badgur--a-window-into-burj-hammoud
Now.MMedia
Sept 8 2013
The result of a long history
NATHALIE ROSA BUCHER
September 8, 2013
Amid Burj Hammoud's narrow alleys - lined with shops and workshops,
bustling with pedestrians and children on bicycles, and strung overhead
with Armenian flags, electric wires, and washing lines - Badgučr stands
out like an oasis. Dating back to 1930, this pink house near the Beirut
River is a promotional center for artisans and creativity, the ground
floor of which is home to authentic and delicious Armenian cuisine
comprised of carefully prepared dishes from traditional recipes.
The two-storey house includes exhibition venues, a boutique for
artistic creations and handcrafts, conference and training rooms,
a guest room to host master artisan trainers or for residencies,
and an outdoor terrace. The dining room is spacious and bright with
cozy tables covered with crocheted tablecloths. Rugs are displayed
on the walls and on the right hand side is a piano.
In the room adjacent to the restaurant visitors can watch a film about
Burj Hammoud's artisans. Upstairs, exquisite Armenian needlework,
crochet creations, knitted slippers and jewelry are on display,
some dating back decades.
The house, which functions like a rhizome, is the brainchild of Arpine
Mangassian, who is known by everyone as Arpi.
"I wanted to create links," Mangassian says of her motivation in
setting up Badgučr (which means 'image' or 'photograph' in Armenian.)
"Keeping to ourselves will be a disservice; we need to engage, we
need to open windows, create passages to make people curious [about
Burj Hammoud]."
Badgučr is the result of a long journey. "I had this dream; I knew
that this area had big potential socially, and regarding its artisanal
work. In our culture we used to feel proud of our accomplishments,
including cultural ones. We've always been creators and I wanted to
demonstrate this creative output."
The realization of Mangassian's dream began in 2009, when she was
invited to take part in in a special edition of the Agenda Culturel
focusing specifically on Burj Hammoud. She began receiving requests to
bring artisans to exhibitions and to do live demonstrations. "After a
series of exhibitions, I was lucky. My uncle gave me a gift and with
that the family could buy and renovate this house."
Often hiding behind non-descript shop fronts across the Armenian
neighborhood are jewelers, hat and bag makers, tailors, shoemakers,
ceramicists, medal carvers, blacksmiths, locksmiths, and setters. The
area also abounds in repair shops. "If something's broken, people
tend to say: 'go to Burj Hammoud, they can fix it,'" Houry Ellezian,
a friend of Mangassian said. "We became famous for fixing things. We
never threw anything away, always kept stuff. We were the early
recyclers."
Once a wetland, Burj Hammoud's history as neighborhood dates back to
the 1920s, when it became the stopping point for Armenian refugees
who had managed to survive the genocide and escape its Turkish
perpetrators. Mangassian's 92-year old father Noubar was born in
Aleppo, after his mother crossed deserts and plains on foot for
seven-months until reaching the Syrian border. A fixture at Badgučr,
Mangassian senior showed NOW a painting he made as a young man ofMother
Armenia, which is now on display in the restaurant area.
Carole Corm writes in her book Beirut: A guide to the city that "Burj
Hammoud would become the refugees' enduring home with two-, three-and
four-story buildings, planned on a linear grid, gradually replacing
tents and wooden barracks...Armenian newspapers, social clubs,
schools and political parties developed over the span of a generation.
Bustling with activity, it is the industrial heart of the capital."
The tour Mangassian and Ellezian gave NOW first stopped at the
Aprahamian Factory, which was established 60 years ago, supplying
local stores and exporting quality leather shoes to Africa and the
Gulf. Ellezian had bought shoes for her son's prom there.
Vahe Mitilian, grandson of Lido Shoes' founder, showed NOW a room
filled with leather swatches, prototypes and tools, where the latest
winter production was lined up. "So many pieces have to come together,"
Mitilian explained, opening a tinted glass cabinet filled with a range
of silver-studded high heels posing next to vertiginous stilettos
in leather and artificial materials. "Designing a new shoe is a
long process."
Nearby a few men, each seated at their workstation, engaged in various
stages of this undertaking. Mitilian's uncle Viken popped his head
through the door holding an 18cm stiletto: "The shoe will carry the
body and the body will carry the rest," he said.
Next up was a visit to the goldsmith Kevork Kazanjian, who as the
teenage son of a diamond setter was sent to do an apprenticeship
with well-known Armenian goldsmith Busant Shublakian. Kazanjian
now sells his creations to shops in Lebanon, and works for private
clients at home and abroad. He displayed some finely crafted pendants
with precious stones inset as well as an antique gold ring on his
office desk.
Mangassian vividly recalls how as children she and her brother would
marvel at the giant cinema poster on display at Beirut's Rivoli Cinema,
without fail signed 'Havarian,' making the two feel proud.
During Lebanese cinema's golden age, the three Havarian brothers used
to paint large, unique posters for theaters all over Lebanon. Yervant
Havarian's eyes lit up when talking about a 40x10m poster he painted
in his small workshop for a James Bond movie, which once complete was
mounted on the Concorde Centre in Verdun. "It is due to this poster
that they had the best box offices sales ever. It hasn't been topped
until today," he said. "I loved my job and did it with passion and
I loved the cinema." Havarian now primarily paints religious oil
paintings for churches.
Mangassian currently serves as head of architecture and urban planning
for the Burj Hammoud's municipality. In her office is a painting
carrying the dedication: "For Arpi, who carries her name well and
illuminates the whole of Burj Hammoud." Arpi means 'sun' in Armenian.
Mangassian sees her role as an intermediary. "The aim of Badgučr is
to make their work known and connect the artisans with people who
will appreciate their artisanship."
Badgučr is window into a world of highly skilled artisans, who gave
their families a new life in Lebanon while preserving skills passed
down by their fathers and forefathers. It is bound to change the way
visitors look at a story infused with trauma, resilience, creativity,
and spirit.
Beyond that, it also offers insight into Armenian culture, which to
Mangassian is a component of that rich Lebanese culture in which she
firmly believes.
For more information call 01 240 214 or 03 652 235 or consult Badgučr's
Facebook page.
https://now.mmedia.me/lb/en/features/badgur--a-window-into-burj-hammoud