InternationalGerard L. Cafesjian: “Welcome to your Cascade”
Published: Saturday November 14, 2009 in Cafesjian Center for the Arts
Gerard L. Cafesjian, president of the Cafesjian Family Foundation, and his wife Cleo cut a ribbon to mark the opening of the Cafesjian Center for the Arts. With them are Megan Doyle (applauding), a member of the board of the foundation, and Michael De Marsche, executive director of the center. Yerevan, November 8, 2009. Mkhitar Khachatryan
The following remarks were delivered in Armenian by the editor of the Armenian Reporter on behalf of Gerard L. Cafesjian at the Grand Opening of the Cafesjian Center for the Arts in Yerevan on November 7.
Mr. President, Your Holiness, Ladies and Gentlemen:
On behalf of Gerard L. Cafesjian, the Cafesjian Family Foundation, and the Cafesjian Museum Foundation, welcome to the Grand Opening of the Cafesjian Center for the Arts.
Some six years ago, former President Kocharian and Mr. Cafesjian joined in a unique public-private partnership to fundamentally transform this then-neglected Soviet-era monument and surrounding property known as the Cascade into a world-class center for contemporary art presentation and education, a premiere gathering place for Armenia's people and their guests from around the world, and a visual focal point on one of the most prominent and commanding points of reference in Yerevan.
On behalf of the government and people of Armenia, former President Kocharian – joined enthusiastically by President Sargsyan upon his election – and Mr. Cafesjian on behalf of the diaspora created and sustained the Cafesjian Museum Foundation to rebirth Tamanyan Park and the Cascade complex rising above the park. This leap of faith by Messrs. Kocharian, Sargsyan, and Cafesjian – symbolically bringing together homeland and diaspora in a common vision of hope – has brought us to this moment of celebration.
For Mr. Cafesjian, this museum represents his commitment to homeland, his faith in Armenia's future as a beacon and haven for all Armenians, his vision that Yerevan can and should present itself to the world as a center of excellence in all facets of human endeavor – including the arts – and his belief that homeland and diaspora can accomplish anything together.
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to your center of artistic excellence, to your reborn gathering place, to your Cascade.
