Bio & Facts
Biography
I was born in the fall of 1980, in Yerevan. My academic background is in zoo engineering.
My photography journey began around 1995, when my grandfather gave me my first camera.
My second step occurred in 2002–2003, when I met Karen Azizyan and Vahram Mkhitaryan. Together, we founded and worked at miRED, our photo art studio. That chapter lasted until mid-2005.
In September 2005, I moved to Artsakh. My plan was to start a farm and build a family business. Even though I worked hard for a few years in my field, whether by luck or misfortune, it didn’t work out.
And surprisingly, the one thing that hasn’t changed in all this story is my inner need to photograph, unshakably loyal.
Documentary
In the spring of 2016, when I was 35, war broke out. From the first day, I was called up as a mobilised soldier—even though I had completed my military service years earlier as a senior sergeant in a training unit. Anyway, my work became widely known due to the photo essay “Mob.” which I created during those days. The project received significant attention both in Armenia and in international competitions and media.
The “Mob.” and the events that came before it marked the beginning of a more serious and consistent approach to my professional path. The war and its consequences became the main focus of my exploration and research as a photographer and visual artist. As a result, new collaborations emerged, which further deepened my work in that direction.
In the spring of 2020, I started working as a documentary photographer for the Information Department of the Government of Armenia. My goal was to maintain a high quality of the photographic material published on official platforms—a standard once set by PANphoto. At first, it was working. But after the 2020 war, priorities shifted, and I decided to take a break.
In between the wars, I worked not only in documentary photography but also in commercial photography, with a focus on architecture, hotels, food, and product shoots.
These days, I photograph, doodle, and continue to teach.
“Blojiks”
And one more thing I almost forgot to tell.
In the summer of 2018, I took part in a Street Art festival in Berlin. That experience turned into something like an incurable addiction. All those little characters I used to draw in the margins of my notebooks in school, in college, at work—finally found their place. They moved from the pages to the city walls and became known as Blojiks.
My Blojiks are about the 'I am' in each of us. They are the inner children—curious, playful, eager to explore, compassionate, sensitive, searching, and observing. They are the ones who awaken us, our inner alarms.
Personal Exhibitions
- “The Silent Presence” 2023 Collaborated with ICRC, Armenia
- “MOB. SeenFrom The Inside” 2020 Centre of Culture in Bialystok, Poland
- “Consequence: Artefact” 2019 Union of Artists, Yerevan, Armenia
- “Consequence: Artefact” 2019 Tbilisi, Georgia
- “Consequence: Artefact” 2019 Stepanakert, NKR
- “MOB.” 2016 Mirzoyan Library, Yerevan, Armenia
- “Muslim monuments in liberated lands of Karabakh” 2007 Stepanakert, NKR
- “Small and Medium-sized Enterprises in Karabakh” 2006 Stepanakert, NKR
Group exhibitions & Photo Festivals
- 100 + 10 — Armenian Allegories, The 7th Berlin Autumn Salon, Berlin 2025
- Un Week-End À L’estle, festival des cultures de L’est / 8e Édition, Paris 2024
- Focus Arménie, Circulation (s) — Festival de la jeune photographie en Europe 2022
- Article 3 Club: “Documenting The War” Photo Exhibition, Yerevan 2021
- WL4 — Mleczny Piotr: photo Exhibition, Gdansk, Poland 2021
- Gurban photo exhibition, Munchen, Germany 2020
- Tbilisi photo festival 2019
- Belfast Photo Festival 2017
- Copenhagen Photo Festival 2017
- Fotoleggendo Festival, Rome 2017
- Vienna PhotoBook Festival 2017
- StreetFoto San Francisco 2017
- PhotOn, International Festival of Photojournalism, Valencia 2017
- Art Photo Barcelona 2017
- Head On Photo Festival, Sydney 2017
- FestFoto Brazil 2017
- Krakow Photomonth Festival 2017
- FotoIstanbul Photography Contest 2015
- “The Armenian Highland in Photographs” 2013 Charity Auction organized together with UNICEF in Armenia and Honorary Consulate of Slovak Republic in Armenia
- “From disaster relief to risk reduction in Armenia” 2011 UNDP, MoES, PAN Photo
- Kyiv International Advertising Festival 2005
- Gyumri Art Biennale / with Mired Photostudio 2005
- “Last Tramway”, Yerevan / with Mired Photostudio 2004
- “Chemical Rain”, Yerevan / with Mired Photostudio 2003
Work Experience
Armenia Fund 2009 — present
ARMENIA I NKR
Photographer
- Photographing all the ArmeniaFund activities in Armenia, such as donor trips, medical centers, libraries and schools construction, infrastructure projects, educational and cultural events.
- Making design and layout for ‘My Home Armenia’, the All Armenia Fund’s monthly newsletter
PanARMENIAN.Net 2009 — 2023
Stepanakert | NKR
Photographer and Bureau Representative in Karabakh
- Provided photo coverage of significant events in Karabakh.
The Public Relations and Information Center SNCO of the Prime Minister’s Office of the Republic of Armenia — 2020–2021
Yerevan | Armenia
Documentary Photographer
Naregatsi Art Institute NGO — 2008
Shushi | NKR
Art Director and Photographer
- Provided photography services.
- Managed the center’s cultural activity in Shushi.
miRED photo studio 2003 — 2005
Yerevan | Armenia
Photographer
- Provided photography services in commercial, art, documentary, and fashion fields.
- Coordinated and participated in photo exhibitions organized by the studio.
- Worked with clients and suggested ideas for photo sessions and promotional materials
Freelance photography 2003 — present
- Areg Balayan’s images were published by Reuters, Al Jazeera, Cbc.com, The Guardians, Daily Mail, Esquire magazine, Eurasian.net, Fox News, “Blankspot” Swedish magazine, Swedish Football Magazine “Offside” and other news media outlets.
- Photographed for Marriott Armenia, Ararat Brandy Company, Europa Hotel Yerevan, “Frank Muller”, “Zebra” Advertising Agency, Tourism and Monument Protection Departments of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR) and Armenia, Armenia’s Ministry of Culture, USC Shoah Foundation, Protocol Corp and the UN missions, “Ayb” School, International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), UNHCR, IDeA Foundation.
Teaching and Workshop Leading
TUMO Center for Creative Technologies 2024, January-July
Yerevan I Armenia
Photography Teacher
Ayb School 2018 — 2022
Yerevan I Armenia
PBL Mentor
TUMO Center for Creative Technologies Photography Workshop 2014
Yerevan I Armenia
Workshop Leader
PANPhoto x TUMO x UN Program 2015
Yerevan, Armenia
Teacher
Individual and Group Photography Courses 2006 — present
Stepanakert | NKR
Course Author and Lecturer
Projects and Professional Development
Misha Burlatsky Master Classes
2015 Saint Petersburg | RUSSIA
- Acquired professional skills of ambrotype photography.
“Internews Armenia” 2009
Stepanakert | NKR
- Participated in the “Dialogue Through Cinema” educational program and developed skills in the creation of original short films.
“Arts Camp” 2008
Tbilisi | Georgia
- Participated in training for documentary photography
- Was a team member of the Remapping project, organized by the British Council.
“Sunchild” Environmental Festival 2008
Shushi | NKR
- Managed the delegation from Shushi
Education
Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Husbandry, Armenian Agricultural Academy, Master’s degree
1997-2005 Yerevan | ARMENIA