The “Tree of Peace” sculpture installed in the center of Ashtarak city will be removed and relocated to another place by the decision of the city authorities. The sculpture was gifted to the city of Ashtarak by the famous Italian sculptor Massimo Lippi, whose works have also been installed in occupied Shushi and Stepanakert.

Iravaban.net tried to clarify the reason for such a decision from the Italian-Armenian sculptor Vigen Avetis.

“The mayor of Ashtarak called me saying, ‘We have decided to remove that sculpture from Ashtarak’s square and take it to put in the “garden”,’ and he referred to the sculpture as ‘a piece of iron.’ That iron is today the work of one of the world’s most famous sculptors, which was installed in Ashtarak in 2014 with my help. Massimo Lippi is a famous Italian sculptor-painter from the city of Siena. He is a professor, teaches at various academies, and is also a journalist. In 2011, he left many sculptures in Shushi. During the Four-Day War, he came with me and created a sculpture in Stepanakert to promote peace. And he told me, ‘Vigen, the most important thing for you is peace,’ he understood that there should be a war in Artsakh and specifically for that purpose created the ‘Tree of Peace’ sculpture, which he donated to the city of Ashtarak. He loved Ashtarak very much and made that gift,” our interlocutor said.

In 2014, Vigen Avetis himself presented the issue of installing the sculpture to the city hall and the Urban Development Committee, and the installation of the sculpture was approved. In 2014, the sculpture was installed with great pomp: “Ashtarak is the first city in Armenia that has a contemporary sculptor’s work in its square.”

Vigen Avetis said that Massimo Lippi is that dedicated Italian who, to this day, fights for Armenia and Artsakh at various levels.

“He has done and is doing great things for our people, our country, and our art. How right is it to remove, to throw away his gift?” our interlocutor said.

When asked what justification they want to use to remove the sculpture, our interlocutor said it’s because it doesn’t suit the mayor’s taste: “Because they say the people of Ashtarak don’t like this sculpture, because they call the artwork ‘a piece of iron’.”

We note that we tried to get clarification on the topic from Ashtarak City Hall, but our numerous calls remained unanswered.