Hello! My name is Zoé Samudzi  and I am a writer, photographer, and third year doctoral student in sociology at the University of California, San Francisco.

I was accepted to the ‘Art Commune’ Artist-in-Residence Program at the Art and Cultural Studies Laboratory  in *drumroll* Yerevan, Armenia! I will be working on a multi-site photography and art criticism project about genocide commemorations and denial, connecting the Armenian genocide to the Herero and Nama genocide (which I'm studying for my PhD dissertation). I will be blending archival research, vernacular photography from and interviews with Armenians; the residency itself aspires to immerse artists from around the world into the local cultural and social-political context of Armenia and combine our practices with meetings, lectures, seminars, and other events with local and international artists, cultural experts, critics, and curators. The work created in this residency will be shared in the fall, during my time as a columnist-in-residence with SFMoMA's Open Space .

I plan to be in Yerevan from the end of April (to document observations of the Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day) until the end of June. Funds raised will go towards airfare, rent, and living costs in the city.

I am always so deeply appreciative of the community support I have received for my writing and other work, and it would mean the world to me to be able to make this residency and this project happen. Thank you so so much!