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Haig Papazian

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Haig Papazian
Rudolstadt-Festival 2018
Rudolstadt-Festival 2018
Background information
Born (1986-12-08) 8 December 1986 (age 37)
Beirut, Lebanon
GenresIndie
Occupations

Haig Papazian (Armenian: Հայկ Փափազեան, Arabic: هايغ بابازيان) is a Lebanese-Armenian multidisciplinary artist, composer, and architect born in Beirut and currently based out of New York.[1] He is a founding member and violinist of Lebanese pop band Mashrou' Leila.[2]

Papazian has been featured on the cover of the Middle East edition of Rolling Stone magazine as part of Mashrou' Leila.,[3] as well as GQ Middle East,[4] Jdeed Magazine,[5] CitizenK Arabia, and My.Kali the first Jordanian LGBTQ magazine.[6]

Early life

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Haig Papazian (1986) was born in Bourj Hammoud, the Armenian neighbourhood east of Beirut, Lebanon. Growing up in the Armenian diasporic community in Lebanon, Haig was drawn to art and music at a very early age. He joined Hamazkayin Armenian Cultural center and Music School where he first started to play the violin. Years later, while studying architecture at the American University of Beirut Papazian founded Mashrou' Leila.[7][8]

Architecture

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Haig holds a Bachelor of Architecture from the American University of Beirut (2009) and A Masters in Architectural History from The Bartlett school of Architecture at UCL. He has received several academic awards including the Fawzi Azar Architecture prize in 2008 after winning an academic architectural competition designing a museum in Beirut.[9] He is also the recipient of The Penrose Award for scholarship and leadership, and the Distinguished Graduate Award for outstanding academic achievement, character, as well as contribution to the department and to university life (2009)[10][11] and the Said Foundation and British Lebanese Association scholarship to study in the UK.[12] Haig interned at Atelier Jean Nouvel in 2008 working on the Louvre Abou Dhabi Museum,[13] and after graduating from AUB, he worked as a junior architect at Bernard Khoury DW5 Architecture in Beirut (2009-2012).[14]

Mashrou' Leila

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Mashrou' Leila was a Lebanese band whose electro-pop anthems about political freedom, race, gender and modern Arabic identity have challenged the status quo of the Middle-Eastern music industry.

Haig Papazian, Hamed Sinno, Carl Gerges and Firas Abou Fakher form the current lineup of the band. Mashrou Leila was formed in 2008 at the American University of Beirut, when violinist Haig Papazian, posted with guitarist Andre Chedid, and pianist Omaya Malaeb a music workshop invite for students at the department of Architecrure and Design looking to jam and write original music in Arabic.[15][16][17] aside from writing, composing and playing the violin on stage with the band, Haig was managing the online social media presence of the band, and was involved in the artistic direction of the band's image, communication, and visuals.[18][19]

Alongside Mashrou Leila, Papazian taught a graduate workshop at the Hagop Kevorkian Institute for Near Eastern Studies at NYU as part of Mashrou' Leila.[20] and also collaborated with notable artists like Roisin Murphy, Joe Goddard, Brian Eno, and Yo Yo Ma.[21][22][23]

In 2019, prior to the pandemic, Papazian performed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art as part of British artist Oliver Beer's Vessel Orchestra Exhibition alongside several notable artists including, Nico Muhly.[24]

Visual Arts

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Haig has participated in Home Workspace program 2011-2012, the inaugural edition of the independent art study program by Ashkal Alwan, led by resident professor Emily Jacir, and guest artist lecturers including Alfredo jar, Franco (bifo) Berardi, hito steyerl, Hassan khan, among others.[25] His visual work explores narratives of undocumented histories and reclaimed futures. Haig Papazian’s installation of videos and drawings, Heroes of a Transitional Time, departs from historical depictions of the archetypal male, hero and martyr within Lebanon’s Armenian community, identifying ruptures through which to understand the flawed logic of hero-making. These flaws are embodied by the outdated, aestheticized and Sisyphean qualities of the renditions of heroism performed by Papazian’s actors.[26] Papazian’s art has been presented in Beirut, Bonn, London, Trondheim and New York.[27][28][29]

New Works

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In 2020, Haig was selected as SHIM:NYC 2021 resident - a program created by Artistic Freedom Initiative, Tamizdat, and Westbeth Artist Housing in NYC in partnership with New York Voices Commission from Joe’s Pub at the public theatre.[30] Haig is working on a new solo project, Space Time Tuning Machine. The first phase will premiere in May 2021 with a performance at Greenwich House Music School’s Uncharted music series, presented in conjunction with Joe’s Pub.[31][32]

References

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  1. ^ "Haig Papazian, Lebanon and USA". Warscapes. 2020-04-11. Retrieved 2021-03-21.
  2. ^ "The obsessions of Mashrou Leila". Egypt Independent. 2012-05-20. Retrieved 2021-04-08.
  3. ^ "Rolling Stone Mideast choose first regional artists for cover". Al Arabiya English. 2014-04-04. Retrieved 2021-04-08.
  4. ^ "Mashrou' Leila: GQ Middle East's November Cover Stars". GQ Middle East. 7 November 2019. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
  5. ^ "Dawid Rus". Dawid Rus. Retrieved 2021-04-08.
  6. ^ MyKali Mag: The Violinist Haig Papazian/
  7. ^ Agenda Culturel: Haig Papazian : "Je voudrais mourir en héros" Archived 2017-10-14 at the Wayback Machine (in French)
  8. ^ Salfiti, Jad (2013-09-13). "Mashrou' Leila: the Lebanese band changing the tune of Arab politics". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2021-04-08.
  9. ^ "American University of Beirut: AUB student Haig Papazian receives $10,000 architecture award". Archived from the original on 2017-10-21. Retrieved 2016-04-27.
  10. ^ "Penrose Award". aub.edu.lb. Retrieved 2021-04-08.
  11. ^ "ArD - Distinguished Graduate Award". www.aub.edu.lb. Retrieved 2021-04-08.
  12. ^ "Bartlett Book 2015". Issuu. 24 August 2015. Retrieved 2021-04-08.
  13. ^ "The Violinist: Haig Papazian". Medium. 2017-03-12. Retrieved 2021-04-08.
  14. ^ "Bernard Khoury". www.bernardkhoury.com. Retrieved 2021-04-08.
  15. ^ el-Jor, Ashley (2010). "Mashrou' Leila - Mashrou' Leila 2009". www.lebanesemetal.com. Retrieved 2010-10-03.[permanent dead link‍]
  16. ^ al-Fil, Omar (2010). "Mashrou' Leila: the rise of the underground". www.hibr.me. Archived from the original on 2011-05-07. Retrieved 2010-10-03.
  17. ^ Chahine, Michelle (2010). "SOUNDSCAPES - Rocking Beirut: A Night Out with Mashrou' Leila". www.HeloMagazine.org. Archived from the original on 2011-01-04. Retrieved 2011-01-13.
  18. ^ "Beirut's First Social Media Awards Full Results". 30 April 2013.
  19. ^ "Afropop Worldwide | Mashrou' Leila: Creatures of the Night--Alternative Rock From Lebanon". Afropop Worldwide. Retrieved 2020-05-09.
  20. ^ "Mashrou' Leila at NYU".
  21. ^ "Quand le Yo-Yo Ma " Bach Project " rallie le " Mashrou3 " Leila". L'Orient-Le Jour. 2019-08-26. Retrieved 2020-05-09.
  22. ^ Faber, Tom (2019-03-07). "Mashrou' Leila: the Lebanese indie band championing Arab gay rights". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2020-05-09.
  23. ^ "Brian Eno, Roisin Murphy and more made an album at Banksy's Walled Off Hotel in Palestine - hear it here first | NME". NME Music News, Reviews, Videos, Galleries, Tickets and Blogs | NME.COM. 2018-04-12. Retrieved 2020-05-09.
  24. ^ Walls, Seth Colter (2019-07-16). "He Turned the Met Museum's Collection Into an Orchestra". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-05-09.
  25. ^ "Ashkal Alwan - Home Workspace Program 2011-12". ashkalalwan.org. Retrieved 2021-04-08.
  26. ^ "ArtAsiaPacific: Home Workspace Program20112012 Open Studios". artasiapacific.com. Archived from the original on 2021-02-28. Retrieved 2021-04-08.
  27. ^ "people - Sharjah Art Foundation". sharjahart.org. Retrieved 2021-04-08.
  28. ^ "Haig Papazian". ArtFacts. Retrieved 2021-04-08.
  29. ^ "The Great Gig in the Sky / Imagining the Soundtrack to Utopia". Archived from the original on 2020-09-13. Retrieved 2021-03-29.
  30. ^ Christina (2020-12-16). "Haig Papazian Safe Haven Residency at Westbeth". westbeth. Retrieved 2021-04-08.
  31. ^ "Haig Papazian - Uncharted + Joe's Pub Live".
  32. ^ "Uncharted: Haig Papazian". 24 March 2021.
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