FOOD & FOOTAGE: WE LIVED IN EACH OTHER'S HOUSES

The project *We Lived in Each Other’s Houses* , curated by the Cultural and Social Narratives Laboratory (CSN Lab) , brings together Armenian and Azerbaijani artists, filmmakers, researchers, cultural practitioners, and broader communities to reflect on shared landscapes, displacement, memory, coexistence, and possibilities for peace. Through documentary films and public discussions, the program creates a neutral space for dialogue and critical reflection.

This evening will feature two recent documentaries that were produced independently but in parallel: *Searching for Satyrus* (2025) by Rena Effendi and *In the Absence of One* (2025) by Varduhi Balyan. Although they emerged from different artistic practices and perspectives, both films use personal narratives to examine the lasting consequences of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict. Through personal stories, lost landscapes, ecological changes, and complex, traumatic memories of war, they reflect on the consequences of the conflict, the loss of shared landscapes and coexistence, as well as the possibilities of envisioning a future after the conflict.

Following the screenings, filmmakers Rena Effendi and Varduhi Balyan, together with Tigran Amiryan and Arsen Abrahamyan (CSN Lab), in a public discussion in which they will explore their artistic practices, their approaches to depicting the complex past, and the role of art and documentary film in envisioning peaceful coexistence and future forms of dialogue.

The highlight of the evening will be a communal dinner curated by Har Toum, visual artist and creative director of CSN Lab, which will provide an informal space for conversation and exchange between the participants and the audience.

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The film screening is free; purchasing dinner is not a requirement for attending the film evening.
The price for the meal is 15 euros per person (drinks not included).

6:30 p.m. Doors open
7:00 p.m. Introduction: Tigran Amiryan & Arsen Abrahamyan
7:20 p.m. Artist Talk and Film Screening: Varduhi Balyan 
7:40 p.m. Curated dinner with Har Toum
8:30 p.m. Film screening: Rena Effendi
10:10 p.m. Q&A
10:30 p.m. End

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The program is developed by the Cultural and Social Narratives Laboratory (CSN Lab) in collaboration with ZK/U – Center for Art and Urbanism and with support from TMU – Trust for Mutual Understanding.

TheCSN Lab is a Yerevan-based collective of researchers and cultural practitioners working at the intersection of memory activism and cultural rights. Their projects address the coexistence of contradictory communities, spatial and environmental justice, queer narratives, and post-war displacement, drawing on a range of disciplines from memory studies and urban planning to decolonial theory and art.