New guest blogger: Hrag Vartanian

Thanks to Erin Riley-Lopez over at the Bronx Museum for highlighting some very intriguing exhibitions. Up next is Hrag Vartanian, a New York-based writer and critic. Born to Armenian parents in Aleppo, Syria and raised in Toronto, Canada, Hrag remembers finding a copy of Susan Sontag’s On Photography on a bench and was inspired to study art history and theory. In 1997, he received his MA in Art History from the University of Toronto and after graduation, he moved to Beirut to work with Lebanese college students. He eventually moved to New York where he has been working in the non-profit field.

He writes regularly for a number of publications, including art criticism for ArtCal and The Brooklyn Rail. He is a passionate champion of the arts and serves on the board of a number of arts organizations, including the Triangle Arts Workshop.

His personal blog, hragvartanian.com, is part of the Culture Pundits blogging network and it combines his passion for art, literature, human rights, photography, pop culture and adventurous ideas. This summer, he began a column about New York’s vibrant street art scene for ArtCal titled “Re:Public.” He is also working on a crime novel.