Armenian A Capella Concert - Trio Zulal

Zulal, which means “clear water” is an a cappella trio that transforms Armenia’s village melodies into modern arrangements that pay tribute to the music’s ancient roots. Armenian artists of the 20th and 21st century have overtly referenced traditional themes and subjects in their art, while trying to push the boundaries of technique and allowed expression in the face of political restrictions. In their music, the singers of Zulal similarly seek to reverence the old while highlighting in their contemporary way the ideas of womanhood, displacement, and the longing for the homeland that the music inevitably conjures.

Free & open to the public. Visit the event page on our calendar for all details, including free parking registration.

Nearly 60 artworks—most of which have not been exhibited in decades—reveal a lesser-known cultural landscape of Armenian art during the Soviet era, uncovering hidden perspectives of cultural autonomy within a constrained political system. Topographies of Dissent: Armenian Art from the Dodge Collection, which opens at the Zimmerli Art Museum at Rutgers—New Brunswick on Sept. 27, 2025, features more than 30 artists who captured the ideological, stylistic and aesthetic diversity of Armenian nonconformism from the 1960s to 1990. Read the .

Topographies of Dissent is the Zimmerli’s first exhibition dedicated to Armenian nonconformist art, prompting an international curatorial partnership. Zimmerli curator Julia Tulovsky, head of the museum’s Department of Nonconformist Art from the Soviet Union and Arts of Eurasia, collaborated with Lilit Sargsyan, one of Armenia’s leading art critics, and Armen Yesayants, an art historian and curator of the National Pavilion of the Republic of Armenia at the 2024 Venice Biennale. Based in Yerevan, Armenia, both guest curators selected works from the museum’s internationally renowned Norton and Nancy Dodge Collection of Nonconformist Art.

Image: Courtesy of the Artists

Host or Publisher Zimmerli Art Museum