Dozens of ambassadors and diplomats from all over the world visited Drenthe today. At the invitation of the embassy of Armenia, they were given a tour of the UNESCO World Heritage in Frederiksoord and the exhibition about Armenia of the Drents Museum in Assen.
The Armenian delegation in the Netherlands has been organizing a meeting for colleagues since the country’s independence in 1991. The visit to Drenthe has everything to do with the exhibition Under the spell of the Ararat from the Drents Museum, where various art treasures from Armenian history can be seen.
At the opening of the exhibition, in May this year, there was a high visitor from Armenia. Several ministers and Prime Minister Nikol Pasjinian then traveled to Assen. And even today, the country from the Caucasus showed how much value is attached to the exhibition in Drenthe. Museum director Harry Tupan was surprised with an Armenian medal of honor.
“I’m still a little dazed,” said Tupan, who was surprised to receive a gold medal from the Armenian Ministry of Culture and Education. He smiles at the certificate in Armenian script that accompanies the medal. “I was really surprised and a bit shocked when I was suddenly called forward.”
Did Tupan immediately use the arrival of the ambassadors to plant a seed for new exhibitions? “I can tell you that the commissioner (Jetta Klijnsma ed.) and I sometimes do that when we have higher visitors. Then we always check whether there is something that could suit us in the museum.”