Detroit

The Detroit Chapter of Hamazkayin Armenian Educational and Cultural Society

The Hamazkayin Detroit Chapter was founded on December 17, 1967, by Ungers Hovagim Manoogian, Sebouh Toukhanian, Samuel Asarian, Ara Gharibian, and Arpy Gharibian Kilian. The group initially began as the Armenian Cultural Association and officially joined the Hamazkayin family one year later.

For more than 50 years, the Detroit Chapter has actively promoted Armenian arts and culture through both regional and local initiatives. These have included theatrical performances such as Larvari Vorse, Baghdasar Aghpar, and Aha Aysbes Abretsank, directed by the Chapter’s former Theatre Director Unger Manouk Derovakimian. Over the years, the Chapter has also hosted acclaimed Armenian authors and writers, including Moushegh Ishkhan, Aram Haigaz, Vahakn Tavtian, Hamo Sahian, and Boghos Snabian, while also screening films by Armenian artists and directors.

A significant milestone came in 2005, when the Detroit Chapter, recognizing the importance of youth engagement and the absence of a community dance group, founded the Hamazkayin Arax Dance Ensemble under the leadership of Chairlady Ungerouhi Hermine Manoogian, guided by the direction and instruction of Ungerouhi Nayiri Karapetian. The ensemble continues to perform and proudly preserve Armenian dance traditions.

The chapter’s recent notable achievements include:

• Founding and nurturing the Hamazkayin Arax Dance Ensemble
• Organizing the annual Hamazkayin Book and Author event, highlighting U.S.-born Armenian writers
• Participating in the 2018 Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington, D.C., representing Armenian culture at the heart of the nation’s capital
• Hosting a diverse range of Armenian artists, including singers, comedians, and film directors
• Offering specialized workshops such as the dance seminar for the Hamazkayin Arax Dance Ensemble
  
  

To see more of Detroit Hamazkayin’s cultural programs, educational initiatives, and upcoming activities, visit our full Events page.

Through its programs and events, the Hamazkayin Detroit Chapter continues to uphold Hamazkayin’s global mission of advancing Armenian education, preserving Armenian culture, and strengthening Armenian identity within the diaspora.