Armenian Dads, 2017

The Armenian Dads photo exhibition was inspired by Swedish photographer Johan Bavman’s work Swedish Dads. The two photo exhibitions explore how fathers in Sweden and Armenia respectively view their roles as parents through photos which challenge stereotypes and show positive examples of what it can mean to be a father in today’s modern society.

The exhibitions have been organized jointly by The Embassy of Sweden in Yerevan and Raffi Niziblian, initiator of the Armenian Dads project, with the financial support of the Swedish Institute and in cooperation with the National Gallery of Armenia and the Yerevan Metro.

The purpose of the Armenian Dads project is to portray the role of the Armenian father as both the traditional provider and to demonstrate other parental roles that they also carry out. Childcare is as much the father’s responsibility. These dads show how they spend time with their children: nurturing, educating, feeding them and being pillars so they grow to be well-balanced human beings who will make constructive contributions to their community.

The Armenian Dads project was initiated by Raffi Niziblian, father of four, after attending an inspirational workshop on fatherhood in Sweden. The photographer who captured these intimate moments of fathers with their children is Areg Balayan, father of three. His humane approach and sensitive treatment of his subjects make him worthy of all the awards he has earned. Areg Balayan and Raffi Niziblian randomly selected Armenian Dads living in Yerevan. Although the selection may not be a full representation of all Armenian Dads, it demonstrates a certain type of men who live their fatherhood experience to the full.

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