Like There's No Tomorrow: Watertown Exhibit Tells Stories Of Lost Homes

WATERTOWN, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) - There are plenty of house keys to homes that no longer exist hanging on the walls of Project Save's archives in Watertown.

"Like There's No Tomorrow" is a collection of photographs from French-Armenian photojournalist Astrig Agopian, capturing the conflict over the Nagorno-Karabakh region and the mass exodus of the Armenian people from it in 2023.

Now the territory is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, but the stories and legacies of the Armenians remain. Project Save was started by Ruth Thomasian when she was working to be a costume designer in New York.

Thomasian, who is half-Armenian herself, told WBZ's Jay Willett that she decided to switch gears in her career upon researching traditional Armenian garb.

"It's history already- once the shutter snaps, it's history. That moment will never return. I called it Project Save because we're 'saving' a whole lot," Thomasian said.

Executive Director Arto Vaun pointed to photos lining the back wall of the studio. In addition to house keys, the new exhibit displays the portraits of Armenian refugees posing alongside the few possessions they could take with them in the moments before they were forced out.

One woman holds a can of coffee. A man holds a stone that was on his old property in Nagorno-Karabakh.

"I thought we need a space where these photos can be brought out and brought to life. Project Save photograph archive is the world's largest, oldest archive that is solely focused on photographs of the Armenian global experience," Vaun said.

The Armenian archives only takes physical photos, though Vaun is working to digitize them. He said that with Project Save turning 50 years old, there's some distinct parallels in today's world.

"It's part photography, part archival work. One of the main things they're going to take with them is the keys to their homes, hoping that they might return," Vaun said.

"Like There's no Tomorrow" is on display until January 17.

WBZ NewsRadio's Jay Willett (@JayWillettWBZ) reports.