Irena Tevanyan. “The important thing is that I live and create in my land”

Many people in Artsakh know carpet maker Irena Tevanyan, whose works have been repeatedly recognized as winners in carpet weaving competitions.

The first carpet that appeared in Ghazanchetsots Church – a sign of blessing

Started carpet making right after finishing school. In a short time, she became so skilled that two weeks later she was entrusted with the complex task of creating a complete carpet.

“When I finished my first difficult job, with the permission of my director, I decided to write my name in a corner of the carpet,” recalls I. Tevanyan, noting that years later she accidentally noticed the carpet she created in Shushi’s Ghazanchetsots church and decided for herself that it is a sign of blessing, which suggests that she is on the right path.

After the first Artsakh war, 12-year-old Irena from the Begum Sarov community, which came under the control of Azerbaijan, had to migrate with her parents to Syunik. Later the family moved to Stepanakert and then to Shushi.

The young carpet weaver started her married life in the neighboring Berdzor, but continued to dream of moving to Shush. Years later, in 2017, the family bought a large mansion in Shushi with the intention of renovating and settling there.

On the way to move from settlement to settlement, Irena was accompanied by the dream of having her own studio and her own carpet weaving workshop. The husband promised and turned the brightest and most spacious room of the private house bought in Shushi into a studio.

The family decided to celebrate New Year 2021 in a new apartment. The war, however, changed the plans of the Tevanians, among many families.

Immediately after the start of the war, at the urging of her husband, Irena had to leave Shushi.

Needlework – a way to escape from loneliness

Artsakh families were first transferred to Yerevan, and later to Charentsava due to lack of room in the capital’s hotels.

In order to somehow alleviate the feeling of loneliness, Irena decides to resume carpet weaving. Her search for the necessary threads leads her to a warehouse of clothing sent as aid from France.

Creativity helps to overcome the pain of loneliness. The outcome of the war, however, breaks the hopes of returning to her native Shushi.

Presenting Artsakh culture to the world…”

After the end of the war, I. Tevanyan had to live alone in Charentsavan for several more months, until her husband managed to find and rent a free apartment in Stepanakert.

It’s been about 2 years, I. Tevanyan lives in a rented apartment in Stepanakert with her husband and her son, who has finished his service, in the hope that one day the surname Tevanyan will appear among those receiving apartments according to the priority of the state.

Despite many daily worries and problems, my interlocutor is not discouraged.

In order to be fully creative, however, Irena still dreams of having a carpet weaving machine and a sewing machine, and her impersonal dreams are related to her relative Shushi.

Even today, the artist from Artsakh, hardened by life’s difficulties, is confident. “If a person has will power, there is nothing wrong, you just have to be strong and continue to create and create”…

Full text in Armenian