Deinstitutionalisation, Kutaisi, Georgia
Photographs © Onnik James Krikorian 2007.
ARTICLES ABOUT DEINSTITUTIONALISATION
SUFFER THE CHILDREN
A mother waits patiently to enroll her son at an Auxiliary Boarding School for children with learning disabilities somewhere in the heart of the Armenian capital. It doesn’t seem to matter to the staff that the twelve-year old isn’t disabled, all the school requires, the Director says, is a medical certificate.
First published 2003
CHILDREN OF THE SOUTH CAUCASUS
At just eight months of age, Tiesa and her two sisters were abandoned by a roadside. They survived by eating roadkill — frogs, in fact — and drinking water from puddles before being discovered. The children, two of them with learning disabilities, were placed in Tbilisi’s Infant House, an orphanage by any other name.
First published 2014
LATEST BLOG POSTS
Ashiq Nargile, Ethnic Azerbaijani Musician
A new generation of ethnic Azeri Ashiqs is forming in Georgia, with Nargile Mehtiyeva at the forefront of the tradition. Regularly performing at festivals in Turkey, Mehtiyeva is also resurrecting the tradition of female Ashiqs among the younger generation.
Ashiq Qarib, Ethnic Azerbaijani Musician
Ashiq Qarib is a 75-year-old ethnic Azeri bard from Algeti, a village in a mainly Azeri-populated region of Georgia. According to the Sayat Nova Project, Ashiq Garib has become the main mentor and teacher for a new generation of Ashiqs and Saz players. Ethnic Azeri Ashiqs in Georgia, for example, can be considered more melancholic in their choice of subject matters than their counterparts in Azerbaijan proper.
Sergo Kamalov, Ethnic Armenian Musician
Sergo Kamalov is an 85-year-old ethnic Armenian musician living in Tbilisi, Georgia, who plays tar, kamancha, dhol and other instruments common to Armenian, Azerbaijani, and other musical traditions. During the Soviet era, he was also leader of the Sayat Nova Ensemble for a number of years.