After my stay in Tbilisi, I traveled to Yerevan, Armenia in May 2018. My friend in New York, who did a residency at the Institute of Contemporary Art in Yerevan, spoke highly of it, I arranged to do a residency.

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Immediately I felt more at ease in Armenia than in Georgia, despite being in the midst of a revolution. This experience was fascinating because I witnessed through the lens of culture, activism, and the arts. Although I lacked a deep understanding of Armenian politics and people, I felt a connection through the shared history of the Armenian Genocide and my own Indigenous American background.

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I joined discussions over home cooked meals and vodka about the ongoing events, realizing later how significant it was to witness them firsthand. I even participated in a march walking along with Nikol Pashinyan, who became the Prime Minister. Seeing the hope and enthusiasm of Armenians, often seen as pessimistic, was inspiring and gave me hope for similar change in the United States.