Armenian art on the walls of Jerusalem

Haaretz reports on a new mural made of Armenian tiles in the heart fo Jerusalem.

A huge mural made of Armenian tiles featuring the sea, animals, plants, trees and Noah's ark will be dedicated next week at 14 Koresh St., in the heart of Jerusalem. The 4-meter by 6-meter (13-foot by 19.5-foot) mural was designed and made using a unique technique by Miri Balian, who volunteered her talents to the city. The Balian family is one of the three Armenian ceramic art families - Karakashian, Ohannessian and Balian - who settled in Jerusalem in 1919 and have been hand-crafting artistic ceramic tiles in Jerusalem ever since. Tile murals by Balian can also be viewed in the portico of the president's house, in the Malha Mall and in Beit Gavriel in Tzemach, on the shores of Lake Kinneret. Her works have been displayed at exhibitions in Washington and in the Eretz Yisrael Museum in Tel Aviv. The mural was installed by the East Jerusalem Development Company and financed by the Jerusalem municipality and the Tourism Ministry.

Posted by Matt on August 04, 2004 | TrackBack | Email to a friend