The idea of establishing the Hrant Matevossian Cultural Centre and Museum took shape in 2003–2005 with the support of the Government of the Republic of Armenia, the Armenian Ministry of Culture, and Prime Minister Andranik Margaryan, in cooperation with the Hrant Matevossian Foundation.
The Centre was conceived as a place for preserving, studying, promoting, and continually presenting Hrant Matevossian’s legacy. Although the Centre’s building remains unfinished—the third floor has yet to be completed—its vision has long been alive in cultural life through performances, exhibitions, educational programmes, school visits, public discussions, and different forms of art.
The Centre’s mission is to advance education, critical thought, and public dialogue through culture. It is developing as an institution that brings education, culture, and ideas together, presenting Hrant Matevossian’s voice to new generations.
A special place in the Centre’s programmes belongs to its connection with Ahnidzor, Hrant Matevossian’s native village, where a future house museum is envisioned. Creating a cultural bridge between the Centre in Yerevan and Ahnidzor is one of its key priorities, revealing the writer’s world through its origins, landscape, and living memory.
The Centre’s vision is grounded in Hrant Matevossian’s words: “Homelands are not given once and for all; they are won every day.” In this spirit, culture becomes daily work, while education becomes a path towards understanding oneself and the world.
In 2025, as part of the events marking the 90th anniversary of Hrant Matevossian’s birth, the writer’s words “I am the master of my time” became the guiding theme of the Centre’s work. For the Centre, they express responsibility towards one’s own time, culture, country, and future.
The story of the Hrant Matevossian Cultural Centre and Museum began with the idea of preserving the writer’s legacy. Today it continues as a house of thought: a meeting place for education, art, literature, and public reflection, and a cultural institution in its own right.
A house of thought. Education through culture.
One important part of the Centre’s work has been temporarily hosting the Hovhannes Tumanyan Museum. For three years, while the museum’s announced renovation has remained unrealised, its programmes, visits, and educational initiatives have continued at the Hrant Matevossian Cultural Centre and Museum. This partnership is an important example of safeguarding cultural heritage and sustaining a living dialogue around the names of two great writers.