Did you miss out on a past issue of QAMI JAN Magazine? Don't worry. We have you covered. 

About the June Issue: 

Issue No. 11 | Where Two or Three Gather

For this magazine, we decided to touch on community and unity, in a myriad of different wants. We begin this issue with a reflection by Maral Matig, who is currently in Armenia and interning with us. Maral, a brilliant artist, initially used painting as a method of occupying spaces from afar, from which she was displaced. Read her essay to see whether she feels she belongs in the little homeland we have left and what she is doing with the opportunity of being present. Both Maral and Maretta Aivazian—our graphic designer, illustrator, and overall extraordinary human—were in the Tavush region of Armenia recently, on separate trips. We continue with a photo essay by Maretta. 

We also interviewed two creatives, both photographers (and so much more): Dea Hovhannisyan and Sophia Hadeshian. Dea tells us how meeting other Armenians in college created for her a sense of belonging, through which she finally understood herself. Sophia details similar challenges in the feelings of belonging and acceptance, though she realized that she already had an Armenian community: her family. Her master’s thesis, which she discusses with us, explores the ideas of memory, lingering, and displacement. As if we have never left.

Finally, we end with Learn for Artsakh’s translations of Leonid Karakhanovich Hurunts’ writings, which we have been sharing for several months. In this chapter, Hurunts discusses the Soviets’ decision to prohibit harvesting mulberries (“tut”) in Artsakh, ostensibly based on their miscalculation that a type of toxic alcohol could be derived as a byproduct from fermentation. If you are Artsakhsi, you are undoubtedly familiar with “tutovka” (vodka made from mulberries) and may know that different proofs can be used to heal different maladies. You also are familiar with the festivity, the community, that a mulberry harvest entails.

The title of this issue is from Matthew 18:20, where Jesus explains: "For where two or three are gathered together in my name, I am there among them." What does this tell us about unity? Do we all need to be the same, or do we need to simply share the same spirit? Or, does the spirit appear among us, once we come together, even two or three of us?