Founders
The mission behind the Yerevan Biennial Art Foundation (YBAF) and the Yerevan Biennial was born when Fabio Lenzi met with the members of the Hovnanian International (HI) founding family during the International Contemporary Art Exhibition in Yerevan in 2018. Lenzi’s vision is to take an all-encompassing approach to establishing a creative ecosystem interweaving the realms of the arts, culture and education catapulting Armenia into a hub for the arts and culture in the Caucasus with a strong focus on cultural diplomacy.
Vahak and Hasmig Hovnanian, the founders of HI, had a similar vision when they started a cultural foundation named after them to seed and foster a grassroots, community-supported movement for arts and education for both the United States and Armenia. Their endeavor in fine arts was co-founding the New York Academy of Art in 1979 on Lafayette Street in Manhattan. In education, they founded the Hovnanian School in New Jersey.
Lenzi and HI decided to pursue this vision and mission together by creating the YBAF and making sure that the Foundation will set out to encourage tourism, foster cultural exchange and strengthen cultural diplomacy, capacity and infrastructure in the region and abroad by means of strong cultural, educational and tourism partnerships. YBAF has been established to develop all the aforementioned initiatives all year-round, amongst them the inauguration of the Yerevan Digital Biennial 2020-2021. The Foundation and Biennial’s sustainability and legacy will come from increasing cultural tourism from both national and international visitors for the festival simultaneously engaging the local community’s audience and institutional partners promoting and participating in the Biennial’s exhibitions.