The video above was put together by Andonian to show a sampling of her work to commemorate Armenian Genocide through art.
Back in 1989, one year after a massive earthquake in Armenia killed tens of thousands of people, Detroit photographer Michelle Andonian ventured to that nation, the home of her ancestors.
While talking to the archbishop, Paren Avedikian, he told of a sad tale of a man who survived the earthquake, but lost so much: His entire family and his home, not to mention both his legs.
How on earth, the archbishop asked the man, could he go on in life after losing so much, to which the man replied: “Hope dies last.” (Read more at deadlinedetroit.com)
About Michelle Andonian
With a compassionate eye for the emotional heart of a story, prize-winning photojournalist and visual artist Michelle Andonian has documented people and places around the world for three decades.
As a lifelong Detroiter, she has also spent years on projects close to home, including the final days of the Fleetwood Cadillac Plant, the reinvention of the illustrious Ford Rouge Plant and the transformation of the Dequindre Cut.
A fine arts professional and educator, her editorial work has appeared in newspapers and magazines worldwide, including The New Yorker, National Geographic, The New York Times and The Washington Post.
Her photographs are in the permanent collection of The Detroit Institute of Arts, The Henry Ford Museum and several other public and private collections. After many trips to her ancestral homeland, spanning the last twenty-five years, Michelle is currently finishing a body of work to honor and commemorate the 2015 centenary of the Armenian Genocide. Her most personal work to date, ‘This Picture I Gift’, tales from her Detroit childhood, offer both a modern journey and a timeless vision of Armenia and Armenians. (Visit michelleandonian.com)