A photo-story on Yerevan’s painted arches
You go outside and walk through a garden with blossoming trees or immediately find yourself on a pier near small boats and waves. All this can be found in Yerevan, even though it is winter now and there is no sea. It’s not a video game with special effects. This impression is created by Yerevan artists who painted the cities’ arches.
![](https://jam-news.net/app/uploads/2018/01/IMG_5148.jpg)
![](https://jam-news.net/app/uploads/2018/01/IMG_5094.jpg)
In 2015 the mayor’s office decided to paint and decorate the arches and the yards of apartments as part of a city development program.
As a result, 110 yards were decorated with paintings that seemed quite unusual to the locals, resulting in a new type of street art.
![](https://jam-news.net/app/uploads/2018/01/IMG_5064.jpg)
The first paintings appeared in the central part of the city: in Abovyan, Amiryan and Nalbandyan streets.
Then the ‘street art’ has finally reached the outskirts. There are a total of 300 arches in Yerevan, but the municipal authorities deemed it appropriate to paint only 130 of them. Arches made of tuff, which is regarded as a symbol of Yerevan, will not have any paintings.
![](https://jam-news.net/app/uploads/2018/01/IMG_5068.jpg)
Each arch is first repaired before being painted or decorated. Afterwards, the chief designer of Yerevan selects the best options for the particular arches from draft sketches presented by artists.
![](https://jam-news.net/app/uploads/2018/01/IMG_5105.jpg)
![](https://jam-news.net/app/uploads/2018/01/IMG_5139.jpg)
![](https://jam-news.net/app/uploads/2018/01/IMG_5145.jpg)
Only young artists and students initially participated in the program. However, they were later joined by their senior fellows. Through their paintings Yerevan has acquired new color and got a chance to stand out from other capitals.
![](https://jam-news.net/app/uploads/2018/01/IMG_5131.jpg)