Glendale, CA (April 23, 2026) – The Armenian American Museum and Cultural Center of California marks Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day with a moment that is both solemn and quietly radiant.
For the first time, following the completion of its exterior facade, the museum will illuminate the building on Friday, April 24, 2026 in remembrance of the 1.5 million Armenians who were systematically massacred by the Ottoman Empire between 1915 and 1923. This inaugural lighting stands as a defining milestone in the museum’s journey from vision to reality, a structure developing in form and, more importantly, in purpose.
The museum will be cast in red, a color that carries the weight of memory and the pulse of survival. Red reflects the blood of the innocent lives lost, but it also burns with resilience, with continuity, and with the enduring spirit of a people who refused to be erased. It is a color that does not fade quietly. It insists. It remembers.
“In red, we remember. In light, we continue. This illumination reflects our mission to transform remembrance into education, to preserve the truth of our past, and to ensure that future generations carry it forward with knowledge and purpose,” stated Executive Chairman Berdj Karapetian. “As the building glows, it transforms into more than architecture. It becomes a beacon. It is a signal that remembrance is alive, that truth endures, and that even in darkness, there is a refusal to disappear.”
This first illumination marks a tribute and a threshold into a new chapter of visibility, presence, and purpose for the Armenian American Museum. As a developing institution, the museum reaffirms its commitment to honoring the past through education, cultural preservation, and storytelling that carries forward the voices history tried to silence.
The Armenian American Museum and Cultural Center of California is a world-class educational and cultural institution currently under construction in the heart of Glendale’s Arts and Entertainment District. The museum will feature Core and Temporary Exhibitions, Auditorium, Learning Center, Demonstration Kitchen, Archives Center, and more. Its mission is to promote understanding and appreciation of America’s ethnic and cultural diversity by sharing the Armenian American experience.
Learn more at ArmenianAmericanMuseum.org.