Culture Check: July 2018

New York's Times Square is submerged in water, Darren Aronofsky gets wet in Yerevan, and more in July's Culture Check

August 3, 2018 | by Creative Armenia

1. Filmmaker Darren Aronofsky was an honorary guest at the Golden Apricot Film Festival in Armenia. As the country celebrated its annual water ritual called Vardavar, Aronofsky showed no fear of getting wet.

2. The Italian summer opened with Arena di Verona, featuring five operas. These spectacular performances are staged in an ancient amphitheatre.

3. French luxury fashion house Givenchy opened Paris Fashion week. The new collection was dedicated to Hubert de Givenchy, the founder of the label, who died earlier this year.

4. The UNESCO list of world heritage sites announced a new addition this month - Spain's Moorish medieval city of Medina Azahara. Meaning “the shining city.”

5. New York's Times Square was submerged in water in a new "mixed reality" public art exhibit. The work, which is the brainchild of the artist Mel Chin, is intended to raise awareness of climate change.

6. Finally, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan joined government officials and iconic Armenian artists at the National Gallery in Yerevan. Together they celebrated the 1-year anniversary of Creative Armenia.