YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 10, NOYAN TAPAN - ARMENIANS TODAY. The opening ceremony of the Cafesjian Art Center took place in Yerevan on November 7. The Center is located in the so-called Cascade area well familiar to Yerevan residents. Within the framework of this ceremony, the triptych of monumental frescos by the famous Armenian painter Grigor Khanjian, the first exhibition of the Armenian American painter Arshil Gorky in Yerevan, and the display of art glass works by Libensky and Brikhtova were opened at the Center. The opening ceremony was attended by RA President Serzh Sargsyan, Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II, ministers, other high-ranking officials. The idea of the Cascade Complex was conceived by the author of the first Master Plan of Yerevan, architect Alexander Tamanian who wanted to link the northern and southern parts of the city with each other. The project, however, was forgotten and later carried out in the 1970s by the Chief Architect of Yerevan Jim Torosian, but after the 1988 Spitak earthquake and the collapse of the Soviet Union the structure remained incomplete for over a decade. The new phase in the Cascade's history began in 2002 when the Armenian American philanthropist Gerard Cafesjian initiated the 7-year reconstruction of the Cascade.

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