Demetrio Paparoni awarded gold medal by Armenian Ministry of Culture

On June 21, 2018, the Armenian Minister of Culture Tigran Galstyan awarded the gold medal to critic and curator Demetrio Paparoni in Yerevan. The recognition was for curating the Armenian Pavilion at the previous Venice Art Biennale and for translating his book "Il bello, il buono e il cattivo" (2014, Ponte alle Grazie) into Armenian, which addresses the Armenian genocide through the story of painter Arshile Gorky. Paparoni, born in Syracuse, has a long history with Armenia, which he describes as a "long-distance love." His interest began through Gorky, who fled Ottoman persecution at age sixteen to the US. Paparoni first visited Armenia a year after his book's publication, guided by artist Rafael Megall, leading to a monograph collaboration. He noted a strong sense of melancholy among Armenians, the distant Mount Ararat now in Turkey, tensions with Azerbaijan, and the economic hardship since the Soviet Union's collapse. During the ceremony, he was moved by his conversation with Deputy Minister Galstyan, feeling officially accepted by the community. He is now working on three exhibition projects at the National Gallery of Armenia at the request of director Arman Tsaturyan. Paparoni founded the magazine "Tema Celeste" in 1983, directed until 2000, curated the Italian Pavilion at the 45th Venice Biennale in 1993, and organized major exhibitions in Palermo (2008) and Tel Aviv (2007).