ARMEN is a performance by Armenian-Lithuanian artist Andrius Arutiunian, who invites the audience on a car journey through Turin while listening to a cassette composed by the artist, featuring samples of disco music from the Armenian diaspora.
Arutiunian reimagines personal and cultural memory through his collection of popular Armenian diasporic music on cassettes, vinyl, and VHS from the 1970s to the 1990s. His resulting artwork combines two essential elements: a recomposition by Arutiunian published on an audio cassette and a taxi ride that serves as its performance space.
ARMEN unfolds during a 42-minute cab ride (the full runtime of the cassette) played through the vehicle's sound system. The experience draws directly from Arutiunian’s childhood memories of arriving at Yerevan’s Zvartnots Airport to the sound of music blasting from taxi speakers. This journey transforms the act of listening into a psychogeographic exploration: a hypnotic speculation on diasporic memories, historical omissions, and sonic absences.
The performance is presented as a collateral event to the group exhibition Stories we carry — curated by Sergey Kantsedal and Agnieszka Faferek and featuring Andrius Arutiunian, Nikita Kadan, Aziza Kadyri, Mila Panić, Ala Savashevich, Slavs and Tatars, and Anastasia Sosunova — at Associazione Barriera (02/11–02/12/2025). It also complements Arutiunian’s solo presentation with eastcontemporary at Artissima.
Thanks to the support of Lithuanian Culture Institute and eastcontemporary, this will be the first iteration of the work in Italy, following presentations at the Kadist Foundation in Paris (2024) and the 15th Baltic Triennial (2025).
PERFORMANCE REGISTRATION:
Place: Artissima Fiera – Associazione Barriera
Meeting point: Artissima Fiera, Via Giacomo Mattè Trucco 70, Turin, Taxi Stop (Drop off at Associazione Barriera, Via Crescentino 25, Turin. A coordinator will assist guests to get to the city centre, if necessary.)
Open days: October 30 – November 02, 2025
Departure times:
Thursday, October 30, 12:00, 14:00, 15:30, 17:00
Friday, October 31, 12:00, 14:00, 15:30, 17:00
Saturday, November 1, 12:00, 14:00, 15:30, 17:00
Sunday, November 2, 12:00, 14:00, 15:30, 17:00
Spots: 3 spots available per slot
Duration of the performance: 40 minutes
Registration required: info@east-contemporary.org
In the e-mail, please indicate an exact day with slot time,
the full name of all passengers and a contact number.
BIOGRAPHY:
Andrius Arutiunian is an Armenian-Lithuanian artist and composer. In 2024, Arutiunian was shortlisted for the Future Generation Art Prize. His work was included in the 15th Gwangju Biennale, the 17th Lyon Biennale, 15th Baltic Triennial, 14th Shanghai Biennale and the 9th Asian Art Biennale in Taiwan. In 2022, Andrius Arutiunian represented Armenia at the 59th Venice Art Biennale with a solo show Gharib. Other selected shows include Centre Pompidou (Paris), Palais de Tokyo (Paris), M HKA (Antwerp), Sapieha Palace (Vilnius), Stroom (The Hague), Survival Kit 13 (Riga), FACT (Liverpool), Rewire (The Hague), CTM festival (Berlin), Meduza (Vilnius), and Contemporary Art Centre (Vilnius).
Upcoming projects include: solo exhibition at eastcontemporary in Milan (Nov 2025), solo exhibition at Memphis in Linz (Sep 2025), a group exhibition at MO Museum in Vilnius (Oct 2025), a performance at Almaty Museum of Arts (Sep 2025) as well as Performa NYC (Nov 2025).