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an active member of the Armenian community.
Born in Ethiopia in 1923, Georges came to Cyprus
with his family in 1935, where he attended the
English School and served with the Air Ministry.
He then joined the
Times of Cyprus
(1955-1959)
and later worked as a correspondent for Reuters
(1959-1963) and UPI (1963-1979), covering wars
and civil commotion in Cyprus, Malta, the Middle
East, Iran and East Africa. In 1979 he co-found-
ed the
Cyprus Weekly,
and beginning in 1989 he
served as a correspondent for
Azg
newspaper in
Yerevan and for the
Armenian Mirror-Spectator
in Boston. Georges actively supported photogra-
phy – he encouraged young photographers and re-
ceived several awards as a member of the Cyprus
Photographic Society. He passed away in 2008.
VeronicaMahdessian
was born inNicosia in 1968.
She holds anMAin Photography from the London
College of Printing and Distributive Trades. She
has had one solo exhibition in Beirut, in 1997, and
she has participated in numerous group exhibitions
in Cyprus and London. Amongst her awards is the
third prize for photojournalism at the 25th Dunhill
Pancyprian Photographic exhibition, which was
organised by the Cyprus Photographic Society in
1995. Veronica lives and works in Thessalonica,
Greece, where she and her husband own and op-
erate Kalfayan Galleries, a well-known family-
owned gallery that organises art exhibitions inAth-
ens, Thessalonica and worldwide.
Haigaz Mangoian
was born in Adana, Cilicia in
1907. Having suffered persecution by the Otto-
mans and theYoung Turks, he and his large family
arrived in Cyprus in December 1920. After Man-
goian graduated from the American Academy in
Larnaca, he and his brother, Levon, started a pho-
tographic studio, the first in Larnaca. They then
opened a photographic studio, briefly, in Famagus-
ta, before settling in Nicosia. Their Nicosia studio
developed successfully, particularly after World
War II. In 1947, together with Levon, Mangoian
published a travel guide,
The Island of Cyprus
.
Mangoian continued with his photography, both in
the studio and beyond it, where he photographed
the places and faces of Cyprus, the country he
came to love, until his untimely death in 1970.
Edward Voskeritchian
was born in Zeitoun,
Cilicia in 1902. His family witnessed the tragic
Genocide of the Armenian people, during which
they were forced to abandon their hometown for
the nearby island of Cyprus. Kyrenia offered its
hospitality to the Voskeritchian family, and af-
ter a short stay, they left for Nicosia. Life proved
difficult there, so the large family moved to Lar-
naca, where they opened a photo shop which soon
closed. In 1920, well-known businessmanMovses
Soultanian encouraged Voskeritchian to move to
Limassol to apprentice with photographer John P.
Foscolo. Voskeritchian established his own busi-
ness, Edward’s Photo Studio in 1926. He loved
Limassol and lived there until his death in 1990.
Sebough Voskeritchian
was born in Limassol in
1975. The fourth generation of this talented and
pioneering photographic family, Voskeritchian
blends the acutely sensitive and artistic side of his
late grandfather, Edward, with the advanced tech-
nical knowledge of his late father, Albert. Vosker-
itchian pushes the boundaries of photography into
the realm of modern-day art and multimedia. He
has taken part in many international group exhibi-
tions and has won numerous photographic awards
– he has also had a solo exhibition in Cyprus.
Voskeritchian’s keen eye is unparalleled, and his
application of mixed media has made him one of
the most exciting and talented young photogra-
phers in Europe.
Giragos Zartarian
was born in Adana, Cilicia
in 1915. In 1921, due to the political situation in
Cilicia, in which the region’s Christian population
faced continuous threats from the Turks, Zartarian
and his family immigrated to Cyprus. After gradu-
ating from the Melkonian Educational Institute,
Zartarian established his own photographic studio
in Nicosia in 1935 and for some years was an of-
ficial photographer for the colonial government.
He is considered to be a prominent publisher of
postcards of Cyprus; his postcard images capture
the landscape of Cyprus during the middle of the
20
th
century. After losing his wife in 1957, Zartar-
ian closed his studio. In 1959 he and his family
immigrated to England, where he died tragically
in 1962 of a heart attack.