World-famous photographer Diana Markosian’s series “1915” was the result of the artist’s journey to Armenia, where she met with Yepraksia Gevorgyan, Movses Haneshyan and Mariam Sahakyan. A century ago, they fled present-day Turkey to escape the Armenian Genocide. But unbeknownst to Diana, photo essays about Genocide survivors would turn into more than just a series of powerful, heart-wrenching images. Touched by their incredible stories, Diana decided to go a step further and launched a fundraising initiative to help her story subjects improve their lives. We spoke to Diana about feelings that made her to put down her camera and get involved in her protagonists' lives.
 

A.Y.: How did you start this project?

D.M.: I was approached by the 100 LIVES Initiative with an offer to find and photograph survivors of the Armenian Genocide who are still alive. I traveled across Armenia and searched through voter registration records, eventually getting a hold of 10 survivors. Before this assignment, I was never interested in pursuing work on the Genocide. 

For most of my life, I struggled with my Armenian identity. It is something I understood, but never fully embraced. This changed for me when I met the survivors. I learned about their childhoods – this was my way into their lives. Once the assignment was complete I followed up with each family, delivering prints of my photos to them. When I sat down with them, they told me about their memories. I felt like they had an unfilled wish: to see their original homes. Thus I decided to travel back to their native lands in search of what they left behind all those years ago.

For her new project, called “1915,” Markosian asked three Genocide survivors to describe the last memories of their homeland. She then traveled to the places they described — places they hadn’t seen in almost 100 years.

A.Y.: When did you decide to do more than just take photos?

D.M.: I am not sure this project was ever just about the photography. So much of it was a discovery for me. I forged a friendship with the three survivors I met in Armenia and in the process of connecting with them, I learned about my own family’s history. I discovered that their story was partly mine as well. In conversations with my grandfather, I learned that my great-grandfather had escaped the massacres when a Turkish family took him into their home. I think from the beginning, I wanted to give back something more than my images, but was not sure how. I decided to start a print sale because it was the one thing I could do as a photographer: raise money to allow three of the survivors – Yepraksia, Movses and Mariam – to live out their final years with more than just basic necessities.

A.Y.: Can you talk more about the fundraising process? How did it start? What was it like? Was there something that surprised you along the way?

D.M.: I was so fortunate to partner with Genesis Imaging, a photo lab in London, which kindly printed the images for me. We printed limited editions of each print, each selling for $1,000. The print sale lasted for several months. During this time I worked on a short documentary, which aired on Channel 4 in London. After the showing, a woman from the Netherlands reached out to me and offered to match the funds I raised. Together we remodeled the three homes of the survivors.

Perhaps this was one of the most surprising moments of the fundraiser. I never expected so many people to assist me in this endeavor. My good friend Harut Mangasaryan was by my side throughout the entire process. We worked on the film together and have been driving to the villages every week to oversee the construction.

Diana Markosian is a multi award-winning Armenian-American photographer whose practice explores the relationship between memory and place. She received her Master’s degree from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism at the age of 20, and her work has since taken her to some of the most remote corners of the world. Her images have been published in The New York Times, The New Yorker and Time Magazine, among others. 

A.Y.: Do you think a journalist should get involved with his or her story subjects beyond his or her professional duties?

D.M.: I think it’s individual. This project became much more than any job for me. It became my life. I started profiling the survivors in October of 2014 and have been following them ever since. But I don’t feel this way about every project I do. I think as a photographer, it is important to recognize these moments, when you are able to give something back. These moments are special. 

A.Y.: Who is your hero? Who inspires you? 

D.M.: There have been a number of people who have inspired me at various points in my life. It's something I am constantly seeking. It's how I grow. This usually means surrounding myself with people who are smarter and more creative than me. Most of my friends are my heroes. They’re creative individuals, thinking beyond themselves. That's what I am interested in.

Funds raised from Diana’s sale of limited-edition Giclée fine art prints of her touching series “1915” have allowed for the homes of three survivors she profiled – Movses, Mariam and Yepraksia’s – to be renovated. 

A.Y.: The inaugural ceremony of the Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity will take place this year on April 24. What is your formula for “awakening humanity?” 

D.M.: When I think about what I want to create as an artist, I think about impact. I want to make work that speaks to people. That creates specific experiences. I guess for me it's about thinking bigger. To not limiting myself by my medium. It’s not so much about having a formula, but about understanding what it is I want to say as an artist and a humanitarian.