About the Collection
Since 1987, Armen Aroyan led groups of Armenians from the Diaspora to visit the villages of their ancestors and connect with their heritage. Over the next 30 years, Aroyan organized around 100 trips with 1,480 travelers.
Each trip was recorded in meticulous detail, on videotape. While the quality and accessibility of video developed, Aroyan’s recordings underwent format changes through the years, the content remained the same: individual travelers reciting, singing, crying, telling stories, sharing bits of Armenian history, and conversing with the local population. With the goal of preserving these videos, Aroyan generously deeded his collection of footage to the Institute of Armenian Studies.
Digitization
The collection is currently being digitized by Institute team members. When completed, the collection will be available on USC Digital Library. This rich collection will provide researchers and scholars primary source material for studying inherited memory, identity formation within diaspora communities and Armenian culture.