
ArmInfo. The Friedrich Soghoyan Cultural Foundation plans to completely reconstruct the museum and exhibition hall dedicated to Friedrich Mkrtichevich Soghoyan, a prominent Armenian sculptor, People's Artist of Armenia, Ukraine, and Russia, and Lenin Prize laureate, which has been operating in Gyumri since 2021, and create a modern cultural center.
This was reported by the Tourism Committee of Armenia, citing the results of discussions between the Chair of the Committee, Lusine Gevorgyan, and the Chairman of the Foundation's Board of Founders, Tigran Manukyan.
As Manukyan noted, the work will be carried out with the aim of promoting Armenian art more widely, organizing educational master classes, and various cultural events that will significantly contribute to increasing tourist flows.
To ensure sustainable development, opportunities for implementing priority steps and mutual cooperation were identified during the discussion. The foundation aims to introduce the art and cultural heritage of this outstanding Armenian sculptor and honorary citizen of Gyumri to the public of the Republic of Armenia and tourists, as well as to promote a rethinking of the spiritual and material values of the Armenian people.
The Museum and Exhibition Hall is located in Gyumri at 35 Academician S. Hambardzumyan Street.
Friedrich Soghoyan was born on October 2, 1936, in Gyumri. He began his creative career in 1960. In 1961, he graduated from the sculpture department of the Yerevan Art and Theatre Institute. He annually presented his works at city, republican, and all-Union art exhibitions.
In 1966, Soghoyan became a member of the Union of Artists of the USSR. In 1970, he moved to Moscow at the invitation of sculptor E.V. Vuchetich to work on the preliminary design for a memorial complex in Kyiv. From 1975 to 1984, he worked in Kyiv as part of a team of artists on the memorial complex "Ukrainian State Museum of the History of the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945." He is the author of the multi-figure composition "Forcing the Dnieper," for which he was awarded the Lenin Prize.
Fridrikh Sogoyan is the author of over four hundred monumental and easel paintings. His works are held in museums, galleries, and private collections in Armenia, Russia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, the USA, Germany, Switzerland, and the UK.
In 2004, Fridrikh Mkrtichevich Sogoyan was awarded the title of People's Artist of Russia. In 2011, he became a People's Artist of Ukraine.