Hrag Vartanian (born 1974 (age 33)) is an Armenian-American arts writer, art critic, and art curator. He is the editor-in-chief and co-founder of the arts online magazine Hyperallergic.

Life and work

Vartanian was born in Aleppo, Syria, raised in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and lives in Brooklyn, New York. His blog-magazine Hyperallergic was founded by Vartanian and his husband Veken Gueyikian in October 2009 as a "forum for serious, playful and radical thinking". Vartanian has contributed to numerous online and print publications including the Art:21 blog, Boldtype, The Brooklyn Rail, Huffington Post, AGBU News Magazine, Ararat Magazine, and NYFA Current. He has guest contributed to Al Jazeera, NPR, ABC, and WNYC. He was formerly Director of Communications at AGBU, the world's largest Armenian non-profit organization. Vartanian was a staunch supporter of the controversial Hide/Seek exhibit which was censored by the Smithsonian.

Curation

Vartanian has curated numerous exhibitions since the late 1990s. His most recent curatorial project was "Fixed Point Perspective: Ottoman Studio Photography and its Contemporary Legacy" at Minerva Projects in Denver, Colorado. The work in the show was a mix of contemporary and historical, and featured artists Gariné Torossian and Hrair Sarkissian, among others.

Writings