FRESNO, CA —The Armenian Museum of Fresno will present “Stone Dreams,” an interactive sound installation by composer and sound artist Joseph Bohigian, Ph.D. This immersive experience will be open to the public throughout March and April, offering a powerful, interactive way for visitors to engage with memory, history, and culture.
“Stone Dreams” is a unique musical installation that bridges the past and present, using music as a medium to connect generations. Through the creative vision of Bohigian, the installation invites visitors—music lovers, students, and adults alike—to interact with a large stone within the museum. This stone acts as instrument, and when the participant taps on the stone with smaller rocks, it triggers fragments from Armenian folk songs passed down by survivors of the Armenian Genocide that are amplified through the museum.
The installation serves as an act of remembrance and stands as a powerful response to a century of deliberate erasure of Armenian culture and history. By engaging with these stones, participants tap into a living, breathing remembrance that carries the weight of the past while offering a tangible link to the present.
“I read a book called ‘Stone Dreams’ by author Akram Aylisli, who wrote about the ethnic cleansing of Armenians in his home country of Azerbaijan. He described the abandoned Armenian stone churches in his home village of Aylis, left in the wake of the massacre of the local Armenian population. In the book, he imagines making those churches ‘sing’ again. That idea really resonated with me. It inspired me to create an experience where stones, when touched, play fragments of Armenian folk songs, essentially bringing the culture back to life through the stones.”
-Joseph Bohigian, Artist
The installation includes recordings of four songs collected in the 1930s by folklorist Mihran Toumajan as part of his effort to preserve the remnants of oral literature surviving in the Armenian diaspora post-genocide.
Bohigian uses a visual programming language called Max/MSP to route the sound from a contract microphone on the stone into a computer to amplify the folk songs.
“We are excited to welcome Joseph back to his hometown of Fresno and extend an invitation to both the Armenian community and the general public to connect with these stones and explore the richness of Armenian culture,” said Varoujan Der Simonian, director of the Armenian Museum of Fresno. “This is a unique experience for Fresno, and we believe visitors will be deeply moved and captivated by this remarkable installation.”
Listen to the report by KMJ’s Liz Kern.
Joseph Bohigian, Ph.D., is a Fresno native. His music often explores themes of memory, culture, and the experiences of the Armenian-American community. Influenced by his own heritage and upbringing, Bohigian’s work incorporates archival materials such as sound recordings, interviews, and ancient musical notations to breathe new life into forgotten histories. His compositions have been performed globally, including in Armenia, Australia, Ireland, Montreal, the Disney Concert Hall, and the Temescal Arts Center in Oakland. A CD of his music, The Water Has Found its Crack, was released on Other Minds Records in 2023.
“Stone Dreams” is a unique musical installation that bridges the past and present, using music as a medium to connect generations. Through the creative vision of Bohigian, the installation invites visitors—music lovers, students, and adults alike—to interact with a large stone within the museum. This stone acts as instrument, and when the participant taps on the stone with smaller rocks, it triggers fragments from Armenian folk songs passed down by survivors of the Armenian Genocide that are amplified through the museum.
Bohigian currently serves as the program director for Other Minds, a leading organization for new and experimental music based in San Francisco, California. He performs as a founding member of Ensemble Decipher, a group dedicated to working with vintage, contemporary, and emerging technologies; produces broadcasts of contemporary music for Music from Other Minds on KALW in San Francisco, and interviews composers on the Other Minds Podcast and the music/technology focused series “Decipher This!.”
The Armenian Museum of Fresno is dedicated to preserving and promoting Armenian culture, heritage, and history through exhibits, events, and educational programs. The museum serves as a cultural hub for the community, offering visitors a deeper understanding of the rich Armenian legacy and its global impact.
The museum is located in the University of California Center at 550 E. Shaw Avenue in Fresno, across from Fashion Fair mall. The museum is open Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and admission is free.
“Stone Dreams” has been made possible, in part, by funding from the City of Fresno Measure P, Expanded Access to Arts and Culture, administered by the Fresno Arts Council.
