1
JOURNEY
3
RESIDENTS
30
DAYS
Get to Know the Residents
Khoren Matevosyan, Visual Artist
Khoren Matevosyan is a visual artist with a distinct style, whose works capture attention and imagination. As a co-founder of the visual arts collective “Kupikazu,” he has organized a number of exhibitions and worked with some of Armenia’s most recognizable brands. Currently, he is working on a project illustrating Armenian fairy tales and is organizing his first solo exhibition.
Having tried his hand at a variety of media, while at the Villa Empain, Khoren will dedicate his creative resources to combining two of his longstanding obsessions—pixels, which act as building blocks of all visuals on screens, and traditional dragon carpets. During the residency, he will create carpet patterns that redefine the traditional art form to create images that have never been seen before.
Instagram: @xoromat
Ani Asatryan, Writer
Ani Asatryan is an imaginative writer, crafting narratives that transcend borders and aim to resonate with audiences worldwide. She began her literary journey with a conceptual absurdist book, consisting of a collection of short stories and essays. Since then, her creative work has been featured in such reputable publications as Words Without Borders (WWB) and The Paris Review and won a number of prestigious national and international awards. Ani also played a pivotal role in the EU Creative Europe project, “Visual Stories from Armenia, Georgia, and Ukraine.” Currently, she is in the prepublication phase of her debut novel E and a graphic novel project.
Ani is now completing her East-West Residency, focusing on finalizing Er, a diary-based novel, revolving around three girlfriends who decide to change their names, setting off a chain of internal and external transformations. At the residency, she aims to complete the final chapters of the novel and polish the story before its pubilcation.
Instagram: @ani.asadourian
Artavazd Yeghiazaryan, Screenwriter
Artavazd Yeghiazaryan is a screenwriter and writer known for his engaging storytelling across multiple projects. He began his creative journey as a journalist and has been serving as the editor-in-chief of the YEREVAN magazine. He is the author of the successful young adult fantasy novel, The Secret of The Dragon Stone, and has published several short story collections. Artavazd also excels as a screenwriter, working on the scripts for the critically acclaimed drama Gate to Heaven (2019) and the short film Lumen Naturae (2024). Currently, he is writing the sequel to his fantasy novel.
At the Villa Empain in Brussels, Artavazd will focus on adapting The Secret of The Dragon Stone into an animated film. He will concentrate on developing the script and animated characters for the project to create a compelling narrative that resonates with a global audience.
Facebook: @art.yeg