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Q: You're well advanced with Geneva's international relations, get out of this "victim" identity and
this project. Where will it be etc. The park also has the advan- turn towards the future. We have
located? tage of being fully owned by the city often been confronted with the rhe-
and is not a classified heritage site. toric of the Turkish state, which I
In fact, it has been a very long pro- Then the artist had to reformulate might summarize as follows: for-
cess. It began with a text, which and adapt the project according to get the past and let us look to the
was voted unanimously by the City the specifications of this new site. future together. Obviously you
Council of Geneva in May 2008. Now the project is ready and we cannot build a common ground by
Following this vote, a working should start work soon. forgetting the past because it will
party was set up with the
Director of the Muni-
cipal Funds for Contem-
porary Art, and represen-
tatives of the Armenian
community, to establish
the specifications for the
competition, the list of
artists to be invited to par-
ticipate, and subsequent-
ly to address the issue of
locating the monument.

Those who know Geneva
are aware that it is a very
dense city full of all kinds
of monuments, sculp-
tures and works of art
on many sites. On each
street there is a bust,
a sculpture or some-
thing. This is why we
have taken our time. We
launched the contest in
March 2010 - the whole process Q: When it comes to funding, reappear in one way or another
took a year and a half. It took a lot who is going to pay for it? whether you like it or not. If we
of meetings, contacts with artists - accept the past, we can also work
a long process. Funding is also an important chap- and give it unexpected forms. This
ter. The agreement also included in is an absolutely fundamental issue
The jury took its decision in the text of the motion was that the for Armenians and other people
December 2010. The problem cost of the competition was covered today who have also suffered great
which then arose was that of the by the city. In practice, the Arme- injustices or major trauma. We are
location - originally it was going nian community will find funding far from being alone; we can think
to be at the Bastion St Antoine, but for the realization of the work. of the Jews, the Palestinians and
this raised a lot of opposition. Some The cost of implementation is of others. It is a really important issue
people did not agree that a contem- the order of CHF 500,000. We are to get out of the victim role without
porary monument should be placed lucky to have a community that is denying or forgetting the past. We
on an emblematic mediaeval site in generally affluent, supportive and therefore need to be open and reach
Geneva. Cultural heritage is a very is able to come together and mobi- out to others, and from this expe-
sensitive issue in Geneva politics. lize itself for a major project. rience a fundamental meaning of
this monument is that it is a place
So we had to find another loca- Q: One could say that you are to share experiences.
tion, which explains the delay. The abandoning the role of victim
cultural services of the city identi- to become one who stretches Do you see the paradox? You cannot
fied another site -- the Park Ariana out his hand to others. share an experience in the absolute
in the neighbourhood of the United without its context; you can always
Nations. Indeed, the Committee on Yes, it is a good way of summari- share it from a singular experience
Monuments and Sites and others zing it, and I think this is one aspect that follows and when it put in
believed that the monument would that really motivates the launching relation to others. That's what is
find its natural place in the vicinity of this project. This is a concern important.
U
of the United Nations, given the na- that many of us in the community
ture of such a monument marking share. Indeed, it is important to

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