Erin Piñon - Operations Manager

Erin Piñon is an art historian specializing in early modern Armenian book arts, spanning cultural networks from Europe to Asia. She earned her PhD from Princeton University, where her work explored Armenian painting, translation, and ritual practices across Istanbul, Aleppo, and Isfahan. Her research on sixteenth- and seventeenth-century visual and material culture has appeared in the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s publications, the Journal of the Ottoman and Turkish Studies Association, West 86th Street, and the Journal of the Society for Armenian Studies, to cite a few. She has over a decade of experience working in museums, galleries, special collections, and archives.

Contact: erin@armenianinstitute.org.uk

Dr. Gagik Stepan-Sarkissian - Librarian and Research Advisor

Dr. Gagik Stepan-Sarkissian is also the Head of the Language Department and East Armenian teacher of the Institute. He is a retired biochemist, who has taught and led research groups at Tehran State University and University of Sheffield before moving to the private sector working in biotechnology and agribusiness across Europe. He developed the first Armenian syllabus for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and taught there over several years.

Contact: gagik@armenianinstitute.org.uk

Kolya Abramsky - Archivist

Kolya Abramsky is an archivist consultant. He is a Registered Member of the Archives and Records Association, and volunteers as the Online Resource Centre Editorial Manager for the International Council of Archives. He has worked in archives since 2017, has MA in Archives and Records Management from University College London. He is a board Member of EOGAN international energy archives network, and Special Advisor on archives to the World Wind Energy Association. Prior to becoming an archivist, he spent 15 years doing educational, research and organisational work on the social, political and economic aspects of the global energy sector, with trade unions, NGOs and universities. He holds an MA in Historical Sociology from the State University of New York, Binghamton, and a BA in Social Anthropology with Development Studies from the University of Sussex. He has edited two books, Sparking a Worldwide Energy Revolution: Social Struggles in the Transition to a Post-Petrol World , and Restructuring and Resistance: Diverse Voices of Struggle in Western Europe.

Contact: kolya@armenianinstitute.org.uk

Erica Payet - Programme Manager

Erica Payet is an art historian with a PhD from the Courtauld Institute of Art, London, where she specialised in the history of photography and photojournalism, the arts from the Middle East, and the relationship between war and visual culture. She studied art history at Ecole du Louvre, Paris, and an MA in Cultural and Creative Industries at King’s College, London. She has over twelve years of experience working in the art market, the non-profit cultural sector and teaching art history and theory at university level.

Contact: erica@armenianinstitute.org.uk

Mariana Papazian - Marketing and Communications

Mariana Papazian was born in Brazil and has a background in Tourism Management and Marketing and Digital Media. In 2017, she mapped in a thesis, the material and immaterial cultural patrimonies of the Armenian community of São Paulo - Brazil. Mariana currently lives in Yerevan and is the co-founder of the Armenian National Film Commission.

Contact: mariana@armenianinstitute.org.uk

Eddie Arnavoudian - Librarian

Eddie Arnavoudian has been passionate about literature, history, and politics, since the mid-1990s when he remastered the wonderful Armenian language. Across two decades and more, he has contributed comments and evaluations that have been published on The Critical Corner which is an integral element of the hugely valuable Groong/Armenian News Network founded and edited by Asbed Bedrossian. 

Contact: eddie@armenianinstitute.org.uk

Sona Kalenderian - Western Armenian Teacher

Sona Kalenderian was born in Lebanon, and has lived in the UK for the last 33 years, working as a Librarian at the City of London Libraries for over 19 years. Alongside Sona’s work in the Library, she has taught Western Armenian to children at the Armenian Sunday school for 25 years and is now teaching adults the language at the Armenian Institute for the last 10 years.

Sarin Akbaş - Western Armenian Teacher

Sarin Akbaş was born in Istanbul. She graduated from Getronagan Armenian High School and later Yıldız Technical University. She is a literary translator and has worked in Armenian schools teaching language courses at all levels. Sarin is currently working on her doctoral thesis on the standardisation issues of West Armenian. Sarin’s online teaching method incorporates her own exciting animations and other audiovisual aids.