Yeghishe Charents museum attracts more and more guests each year

The Yeghishe Charents House-Museum has opened its doors for all visitors today to celebrate the 116th birthday of the great 20th century writer, poet and public figure.

Most of the guests are young people whose number is increasing each year, says the director of the museum, Lilit Hakobyan.

“It is commendable  that our visitors are predominantly young people – students and school children. But there are no age limitations on the birth and death anniversaries as people of all ages come here,” she told Tert.am, noting that the young generation actively reads Charents’ works today.

Hakobyan said they never complain about visitors’ activeness. “The most passive months here are January and February. The liveliness begins in late February and continues throughout the year. In March and in the months of autumn, visitors’ activeness increases even more,” she noted.

The museum's director added that they have many foreign tourists in summer, most being young people. She said further that visitors from Turkey have been demonstrating an increasing interest in the recent years.

Hakobyan, who has been in charge for the museum since 1989, added the attitude towards the great writer has turned into love for, and interest in, his poetry.

“There’s quite a big interest compared to those years. The visitors’ number decreased a little bit at the beginning of the 1990s, but we held different events in that period too, and people came,” she said.

Hakobyan added that they also receive groups from the remote regions of Armenia. “The groups from the regions often have brilliant children who know Charents’ [poetry] very well. We also hold different contests that see [participants] from the regions draw the main awards,” said she.

Hakobyan further addressed the museum’s problems, saying that they always exist and require time and efforts to find a solution. “That overpowers us essentially, but our museums are, all in all, in quite a good condition. It is not our opinion, of course; visitors from abroad also state that,” she said, pointing out to a couple of problems, including the absence of an accessible environment for people with disabilities.

Later today, the museum will host an exhibition titled “Kars: Childhood and Youth” (Kars which is now in Turkey’s territory was the great writer’s birthplace).