NAASR Opens World Headquarters In Belmont

BELMONT, MA — The National Association for Armenian Studies and Research celebrated the opening of its new headquarters in Belmont, this weekend. The 395 Concord Ave location is named after Vartan Gregorian, the president of the philanthropic foundation Carnegie Corporation of New York.

The NAASR headquarters will house Armenian artifacts and books. The goal of NAASR is to promote Armenian Studies through scholarship, research, and publication and to support and cooperate with other organizations focused on Armenian history and culture.

Featured at the Grand Opening was the unveiling of a site-specific sculpture that was donated by world-renowned Armenian-American artist, Michael Aram. His sculpture is an interpretation of a traditional Armenian symbol of eternity, or “Arevakhatch.

“We are sincerely grateful to all of the extremely generous and talented people who made our vision a reality. This building is NAASR’s gift to future generations,” said Yervant Chekijian, NAASR Board Chairman.

The ribbon cutting was followed by tours of the building through many of its public spaces, as well as NAASR’s rare book Mardigian Library, one of the top five Armenian libraries open to the public in the diaspora, with some holdings dating to the 1600s, and rare periodicals dating to the 1800s, as well as the unique personal archives of prominent scholars, early Armenian-Americans, and religious leaders.

The Middlesex County Sheriff's Office also offered NAASR a citation to commemorate the grand opening: