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The National Gallery of Armenia opened the exhibition "Witnesses to Awakening: The Photographers Abdullah Frères" on Friday.

“Witnesses to Awakening” is the first retrospective exhibition of Armenian photographers from Istanbul of Abdullah Frères' work in Armenia that spans their practice from the early 1860s until the studio's closure in 1899. Renowned for its striking portraits, the Abdullah Frères as a pre-eminent photographic studio enabled a new era of self-representation for Middle Eastern people and cultures, the exhibition organizers said.

Charting the Frères' engagement with various genres and styles of 19th century photography, the exhibition also highlights the dominant and singular position of Armenian photographic networks in the Middle East, revealing the remarkable contribution of Armenian image-makers to the evolution of global modern visual culture, while showcasing the refined, modern aesthetic qualities that made the studio a great transcultural success.

The Abdullah (Arabic translation of the Armenian Astvatsaturyan) brothers Viçen (1820–1902), Hovsep (1830–1908) and Kevork (1839–1918) came from a Catholic-Armenian merchant family. Widely recognized today as founders of indigenous photography in the region, Abdullah Frères' legacy remains to be properly assessed for its diverse manifestations and implications. Even less acknowledged is their contribution to the Armenian 'Zartonk' (Enlightenment) of the 19th century.

The exhibition is organized by the National Gallery of Armenia and ManBan Visual Culture Archive in association with the Yeghishe Charents Museum of Literature and Arts and the National Library of Armenia.

The exhibition curator is Vigen Galstyan.