ARI Literature Foundation is dedicated to developing literary and publishing capacity of Armenia and promoting Armenian literature worldwide.
About ARI Literature Foundation
mission & vision
History
Since 2017 ARI Literature Foundation has been a unique cultural NGO in Armenia promoting the visibility of Armenian authors worldwide. Founded by literary agent Arevik Ashkharoyan, who has been working towards promoting Armenian writers globally for over 5 years, the organization came to fill in the gaps in Armenian literature promotion programs.
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2017
business founded
ARI was founded and started with implementation of one small project of hosting a tour of American writers and 10 young writers for training and dialogue. The first edition of Write in Armenia International Writing Camp based on the experience of the first project implemented in 2018 .
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2018
New projects
New partnership with Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation to coordinate Gulbenkian Translation Series Project.
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2022
Development in numbers
Over 5 editions of Write in Armenia, with 50 young writers from 5 countries trained and brough into dialogue around literature, politics and globalization.
Around 4 new projects in implementation, including ARI Press, international projects funded by EU Creative Europe. Long standing partnerships with Galoust Gulbenkian Foundation, Konrad Adenauer Foundation, Eurasia Partnership Foundation.
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2025
network growth
Organized and/or participated in over 40 international industry events in 10 countries, over 4 continents.
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Now
International reliability
A reliable project partner for over 3000 international partners, publishers and cultural organizations globally.
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Coming Soon
First edition of Parallels International Festival for Literature in Armenia.
meet the team
Our Team
Arevik Ashkharoyan
Founder, Director
With more than a decade of experience in the corporate world, for the past 15 years Arevik Ashkharoyan shifted her focus to work in publishing, literary projects’ management and promotion of Armenian literature.
Liana Shiroyan
Program Manager
Program manager and translator Liana Shiroyan is responsible for ARI projects development and coordination, financial operations and office management.
Board of Trustees
Arminé Nalbandian
Chair of the Board of Trustees
Arminé Nalbandian is a public policy leader with more than a decade of experience advising governments and organisations on social policy and economic development strategies.
Yana Genova
Member of the Board of Trustees
Yana Genova is an international consultant to independent cultural projects, cultural policy initiatives and EU cultural programmes.
Emma House
Member of the Board of Trustees
Emma House is an international publishing consultant specializing in event curation and management, research and reports, international business development and mentorship.
Natia Mikeladze-Bachsoliani
Member of the Board of Trustees
Natia Mikeladze-Bachsoliani is an award-winning translator and cultural manager.
Lucineh Kassarjian
Member of the Board of Trustees
Lucineh Kassarjian is the Chief Operating Officer of Sensyan, a boutique advisory firm offering services to companies investing, operating or launching in Armenia.
Board of Advisors
Ani Attamian
Member of Advisory Committee
As founder of LEMA® Collective, Ani Attamian is focused on helping businesses turn disruptive innovation into sustainable growth.
Alain Navarra
Member of Advisory Committee
Alain Navara is an artist with extensive international experience in the fields of art and visual culture.
Charle Malas
Member of Advisory Committee
One of his many projects was the Armenian Pavilion at the London Bookfair based on his principle of Diaspora and Armenia publishers, authors, writers and booksellers exhibit their work at a single united stand.
Christopher Atamian
Member of Advisory Committee
Christopher Atamian is a New York-based writer, filmmaker, translator and editor.
Alexis Krikorian
Member of Advisory Committee
Alexis is the co-founded Hyestart, an NGO supporting cultural democracy in Armenia and neighboring countries.
