Piruza Khalapyan will document the experiences of Syrians living in Armenia. Khalapyan aims to portray daily life for this community of migrants in order to address the underlying social, economic, and human rights issues they face both in their home country (Syria) as well as their receiving one (Armenia).
Khalapyan currently works as a staff photographer for MediaLab, an online news publication in Armenia. She studied filmmaking at the Yerevan State Institute of Theatre and cinematography and has created five documentary short films. Then, in 2005, she participated in a photojournalism training program organized by World Press Photo and the Caucasus Media Institute. In 2008, Khalapyan was selected to represent Armenia in “Close to Home,” a touring exhibition organized by the British Council and won first prize for the 2011 Na/Ne Media Award also organized by the British Council. In 2010, Khalapyan co-founded the Ruben Mangasaryan Memorial Foundation in Yerevan, Armenia, to support documentary photography in the region.