The two photo exhibitions explore how fathers in Sweden and Armenia respectively view their roles as parents, through photos which challenge stereotypes and show positive examples of what it can mean to be a father in today’s modern society. The exhibitions are now showing at Republic Square Metro station in Yerevan and will be open until 8 th of July.
The “Swedish dads” and “Armenian Dads” exhibitions, created by Swedish photographer Johan Bävman and Armenian photographer Areg Ablayan respectively, opened first in Yerevan at the National Gallery of Armenia on 8th of June and moved on the 23rd of June to the Republic Square Metro Station. The exhibitions have been organized jointly by The Embassy of Sweden in Yerevan and Raffi Niziblian, initiator of the “Armenian Dads” project, with the financial support of the Swedish Institute and in cooperation with the National Gallery of Armenia and the Yerevan Metro.
The exhibitions have quickly became popular and the second opening at the Metro, generated a lot of interest from the media and in the public. A collection of links to some of the TV- and online newspaper reportages can be found on the right corner, with remarks by Minister-Counsellor Mr. Martin Fredriksson, project initiatior Raffi Niziblian, photographer Areg Ablayan.
SwedishDads
In Sweden, when a child is born, the parents are granted 480 days of paid parental leave. It’s a very generous system, for both fathers and mothers, which is important because when a young couple in Sweden is thinking about having a child, their first concern doesn’t have to be how to afford it. The system also has a positive effect on gender equality because it encourages both fathers and mothers to share the burden and the joy of taking care of their children. Today about a quarter of the paid parental leave days are used by fathers, and three quarters by mothers.
When Swedish photographer Johan Bävman became a father, he found there was a lack of role models that men could relate to as parents. This led him to put to start the photo project leading up to the Swedish Dads photo exhibition, which aims to show other fathers, in Sweden, as well as in other countries, the positive benefits of a system which allows for both men and women to stay at home with their children. “With the aid of this project, I hope to inspire more men to begin reflecting on their roles as fathers and partners”, the photographer explains. Johan Bävman has won many awards for his pictures, including a World Press Photo prize, POY, a Sony Award, NPPA, a UNICEF Photo Award and some leading Swedish prizes.
Armenian Dads
Armenian Dads photo exhibition was inspired by Swedish photographer, Johan Bavman’s work. The purpose of Armenian Dads project is to portray the role of the Armenian father as both the traditional provider, but to demonstrate other parenthood roles that are also carried out by them. Childcare is as much the father’s responsibility and these dads show how they spend time with their children; nurturing, educating, feeding them and being a pillar so they grow to be well balanced human beings that will make constructive contributions to their community.
Armenian Dads project was initiated by Raffi Niziblian, father of four, after attending an inspirational workshop on fatherhood in Sweden. The photographer that was commissioned for capturing these intimate moments of fathers with their children is Areg Balayan, father of two. His humane approach and sensitive treatment of his subjects make him worthy of all the awards he has earned. Areg Balayan and Raffi Niziblian randomly selected Armenian Dads living in Yerevan. Although the selection may not be a full representation of all Armenian Dads, it demonstrates a certain types of men that live their fatherhood experience to the full.
