BACKGROUND
A major part of the concept and impetus for forming the Corporation came from the experience of completing “Brentwood, No. 24” in Avon, Connecticut, itself a multifaceted art project, and two previous art projects, “Reverse Pioneering” in Newton, Massachusetts and “Discovering America” in Portland, Oregon. Each of these art projects, with progressive complexity, crosses the disciplinary boundaries between art, architecture, philosophy and poetry. These works expand mental boundaries and broaden the perspective of what people would consider for their own dwellings. One of the most important goals of these projects is the expression of the subjective reality of freedom in the United States, and how this becomes a multifaceted gift that actualizes itself in numerous ways for immigrants to the United States. With that as a point of departure, Fermata continues to mark its progress by the many and varied current and past projects and programs documented on the Our Projects page.
MISSION STATEMENT
The overall mission of the Corporation is to aid in the preservation of peace through mutual respect, understanding and cooperation. The model for achieving this is through the synthesis of art, architecture, philosophy and poetry. The Corporation exists to promote and encourage true intercultural dialogue between countries, through which the representatives of different countries can discover shared values and spiritual commonality.
The nature of the Fermata Arts Foundation activities is
* developing cultural partnerships between New England cities and cities in the post-soviet space countries;
* providing opportunities for individuals to experience and explore other cultures;
* creating an atmosphere in which community development can be strengthened by stimulating environments through which communities will creatively learn, work, and solve problems together through reciprocal cultural and educational exchanges and projects; and
* collaborating with organizations in the United States and other countries which share similar goals.
Fermata Arts Foundation, Inc.
Board of Directors
Dr. Pamela Gay (2008 – ) Vice President
Elena Kriukova (2008 – ) Treasurer
Tatyana Ishutkina (2008 – ) executive director
Prof. Igor O. Klimov (2008 – )
Dr. Victor Shadrin (2010 – )
Dr. Turatbek Dujshenaliev (2011 – )
Davit Koiava (2012 – )
Yelyzaveta Klimova (2022 – )
Fr. James Woods (2008 –2018)
Prof. Mark Jarzombek (2010 – 2018)
Yelena Synkova (2008 – 2012)
Rev. Dace Jansone (2010 – 2013)
Andrei Kotlaroff (Jan – Aug 2010)
Eugene Magerovsky (2008) Honorary Board Member
Volodymyr Chayka (Dec 2012 – March 2013) Honorary Board Member
STAFF
Elisabed Gvasalia, Volunteer
Greetings!
My name is Elisabed Gvasalia, and I’m excited to introduce myself to you. I am a recent graduate of Tbilisi I. Vekua Physics-Mathematical School 42, where I had the incredible opportunity to represent Georgia as a member of the national artistic swimming team. However, after enrolling at KIU, I had to let go of my passion for artistic swimming, as there were no available clubs for me to continue practicing in Kutaisi.
Currently, I am in my second year of pursuing a degree in computer science at KIU. I am thoroughly enjoying this academic pursuit, as I’m constantly presented with new challenges and opportunities for growth. In my free time, I have a deep passion for nature and photography, which allows me to capture and showcase the beauty of our world.
Furthermore, I have always had a soft spot for animals and their welfare. I
strongly believe that every living being deserves to be treated with respect and dignity. Thus, I am committed to using my skills and knowledge to help defend the rights of those in need, be they animals or people. My passion for social justice fuels my desire to make a positive impact on the world, and I’m eager to see where this journey takes me.
Thank you for taking the time to get to know me a little better, and I hope to connect with you soon.
Nikoloz Gvasalia
Volunteer
Hello, my name is Nikoloz Gvasalia, I was born in one of the most beautiful countries in the world, in Georgia. Georgia is not only beautiful, but also culturally enlightening. Maybe It is not very well known, But My country was able to contribute and gave a lot of interesting things to the world cultural community. I think that as a History student, I will be able to present my homeland to people from different countries, and as a future historian, I am very interested in studying the history of different countries and cultures, because if people know more about each other and respect customs and interests, they will be able to establish relations only through diplomacy, and they will avoid war, devastation and death of civilians as much as possible. Many thanks to Fermata Arts Foundation for the opportunity to be a volunteer journalist in their organization, which will give me the opportunity to better understand and study the United States, communicate with peers and tell my story.
Roderick O. Clarke (Texas, USA)
Consultant for Front Line Strategies
Rounding out his professional experience in this position Roderick Clarke develops innovative strategies to create an inter-allied world because countries–countries confronting one another do exist. Roderick was born in Jamaica. He immigrated to the United States when he was 17 years old. In September of 1991, he joined the United States military.
During his 13-year tour of duty in the Marine Corps, he was stationed in different places around the world such as Okinawa, Japan, the Asian Pacific and England, which saw him being heavily involved in humanitarian missions.
“Many people think of the military as a force which only eradicates the enemy, but my desire was to help bring peace and I found fulfillment in undertaking humanitarian exercises – building bridges, orphanages pumping potable water from the rivers into villages,” he said. During his service Roderick Clarke received a meritorious promotion to Staff Sergeant and a Marine Meritorious Honor medal, a NAM medal, and scholarships. Roderick Clarke is the author of “Black Reign”, “Loose but Bound” and “Manifest”. He started writing at age 12, but published his first book “Black Reign”, a collection of poems, after he retired from the Marines. His first book won awards at Cambridge University.
E-mail: clarkes31(AT)@yahoo.com.
Guri Koiava
Program Manager – Georgia
Gurieli Koiava was born – April 10, 1989 in Tbilisi, Georgia. He was studying at The First Classical Gymnasium in Tbilisi during the 1995 – 2006. Since 2005 Gurieli owned black belt in Karato-do and represented the Georgian national team. In a same year he become scout leader in Tbilisi Scout Movement. Gurieli was awarded Presidential stipend as a best sportsman and student of the year 2005. After graduation secondary school he entered Institute of Marketing and Media Communications in the faculty of „Tourism management”. In the end of second semester he took free academic year and went to work as a Volunteer in Special Kindergarten 213 (work with disabled people) in Warsaw, Poland, with a European Voluntary Service project.From 2008 Gurieli moved back to Georgia and Implementation of own project integrating disabled youth in society, Tbilisi, Georgia.In a same year he become Chairman of Student Union in Institute of Marketing and Media Communications. From 2009 Gurieli went to study at Vidzeme University College (Tourism and Hospitality management faculty, Latvia)As he received the scholarship from Open Society Institute within HESP Programme. In a same year Gurieli worked Assistant of promotion company Skoda Auto during World Hockey Championship in Bern, Switzerland. Currently Gurieli is living in Riga, Latvia and studying at School of Business Administration, Turiba (Tourism and hospitality Management department) simultaneously he is working as a” Youth in Action” projects manager in Association of Initiatives and Cooperation “Yard” – AICY Riga, Latvia.
Mumtoz Kamolzoda
Volunteer
Mumtoz Kamolzoda was born in Dushanbe, Tajikistan on February 23, 1987. She began to show interest in learning languages, international affairs and arts at the age of 13 in high school. She pursued her passion through Russian Tajik Slavonic University (Tajikistan) majoring in intercultural communication and linguistics. She has studied photography in India and Chinese language in China. Currently she is doing her master’s in art history and museum studies at Tufts University (USA).
Nikolay Synkov
Founder and Resident Artist
Nikolay is a Fermata Arts Foundation founder. Nikolay is an artist based in Boston, Massachusetts and works with the medium of the single-family home and its interior and exterior artwork. He is known as an artist in the development and diffusion of decorative art and architectural styles since late 90s. In general Synkov proved to be highly experimental, increasingly eclectic and often more lavish in the size of the designs and the decoration of the surfaces. Because of his humble origins, his self training and the fact that he never expressed himself as an artist outside of America, his work has the constant evidence of the firm connection to nature. His work re-affirms the importance of Nikolay Synkov’s role in the development and diffusion of a new style in American decorative art and architecture. He has an unusual sensitivity to the potential elegance of the wood carving which enables him to produce some of his finest works.
Sean Cummings
Program Director/ Webmaster
Sean M. Cummings is a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA (B.A. Architecture) and Massachusetts College of Art + Design (Master of Architecture II).
He is an international education professional with 14+ years of experience in non-profit and higher education.
On behalf of the Fermata Arts Foundation Sean traveled with the Fermata’s program “Let’s Build a Roof over the World” to Latvia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Tajikistan with exhibitions, lectures, workshops and presentations.
He is driven by dynamic thinking in building bridges of cultural understanding and enabling mutual learning between the countries of the post-Soviet space and developed capitalist world.
E-mail: smcummings(AT)gmail.com
Umedjon Majidi
Communications Manager – Tajikistan
Umedjon Majidi is a FAF Communications Manager for Tajikistan. He brings his deep understanding of the dynamics of Central Asia Culture. He studied BA International Relations in Russian-Tajik Slavonic University, Dushanbe, Tajikistan ( 2006) and MA Politics in India’ Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India (2009) and is currently PhD programme in Central Asia cultural studies in Tajikistan Academy of Science Phone: +992 901500042
E-Mail: umedjon AT majidi DOT tj
Skype: umedjonmajidi
Tinatin Menteshashvili
Adviser and Coordinator for Strategy
Tinatin serves as an adviser-coordinator on strategy and scope of Fermata communication ideation, developing educational criteria for finding supportive points in the connections between countries.
Tinatin’s education and professional experience in academia, journalism and education in Tbilisi, provided her with the foundation for understanding psychic commonalities in children’s artwork and in the professional work of aesthetes as a category.
“A journalist as a strategist of compromises in the mass media” and “Culture and sculpture as antipodes of the development of the society” are some of the working models that Tinatin is using as her practical tools for promoting a new spectrum of communication developed by Fermata.
Tinatin earned her graduate and post-graduate degrees from Tbilisi State University. She is currently holds a position of an art studio manager in the Merab Berdzenishvili International Culture Center MUZA.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Turatbek Duishenaliev
Dr., Prof. Turatbek Duishenaliev was born on January 1, 1960 in Kyrk-Kazyk village, Talas region, Kyrgyzstan. He graduated from Civil Engineering Institute in Rostov-on-Don in 1982. From 1986 to 1988 he worked as a junior researcher in Institute “Rostov’s PromstroiNIIproject”. From 1988-1994 he led a department “Constuction Mechanics” in Frunze Polytechnic Institute in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. From 1997 he held defferent positions of increasing responsibitlites at the Kyrgyz State Technical University named after I.Razzakov. Since April of 2010 Dr. Duishenaliev is a rector of Kyrgyz State Technical University named after I.Razzakov. He has more than 80 publications in the field of mechanics. On the FAF Board of Directors he will represent his part of Central Asia in the educational sector and will work on establishing international connections between young Central Asians and other countries in which FAF is active.
E-mail: duishenaliev(AT)mail.ru
Pamela L. Gay
Dr. Pamela L. Gay is a graduate with honors of the Michigan State (1996), and University of Texas (M.A, 1998 and Ph.D., 2002) Dr. Gay is an American astronomer, educator, podcaster, and writer, best known for her work in astronomical podcasting. She was one of the cofounders of Slacker Astronomy, and was an “on air” personality for the show from February 2005 until the end of its first iteration in September 2006. She currently works with Fraser Cain in co-hosting Astronomy Cast. She received her PhD in Astronomy from the University of Texas, Austin, in 2002. Dr. Gay’s main affiliation is as a visiting assistant professor of Physics at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. There she teaches introductory physics and astronomy courses. However her professional interests and responsibilities range across the world. She maintains simultaneous appointments as an instructor with the University of Swinburne in Australia as part of their pioneering astronomical distance learning program. Dr. Gay is also active in collaborative outreach efforts within the astronomical community. Her main research interests include RR Lyrae stars with which she collaborates with both professional and amateur astronomers across the world in order to gather needed data. She is on the Council (Board of Directors) for the American Association of Variable Star Observers, as well as its Educational Committee Chair. Dr. Gay is co-chair of the United States new media efforts with regard to the International Year of Astronomy, 2009.
E-mail: pamela(AT)starstryder.com
Tatyana Ishutkina
Tatyana Ishutkina is a Director of Fermata Arts Foundation and serves as Fermata Arts Board Secretary. She possesses an extensive experience in multidisciplinary research in engineering, education and managerial fields. She brings her deep understanding of the dynamics of change and enterprise interdependencies. She has MSc in Engineering, BA and MSc in Administrative studies from Boston College and is currently in the Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) program in Management Science in University of Strathclyde Business School, Glasgow, Scotland.
E-mail: tishutkina(AT)gmail.com
Mark Jarzombek
Mark Jarzombek, Professor of the History and Theory of Architecture, is the Associate Dean of MIT’s School of Architecture and Planning. He has taught at MIT since 1995, and has worked on a wide range of historical topics from the Renaissance to the modern. Jarzombek, who was an undergraduate at the University of Chicago, received his architectural Diploma in 1980 from the Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule and his Ph.D. from MIT in 1986. He was a CASVA fellow (1985), Post-doctoral Resident Fellow at the J. Paul Getty Center for the History of Humanities and Art, Santa Monica, California (1986), a fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, NJ (1993), at the Canadian Center for Architecture (2001) and at the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute (2005). He has worked extensively on nineteenth and twentieth century aesthetics, and the history and theory of architecture. He has just published a textbook entitled A Global History of Architecture (Wiley Press, 2006) with co-author Vikram Prakash with the noted illustrator Francis D.K. Ching. Jarzombek is currently working on a set of essays on architecture and modernity. Jarzombek teaches a range of courses at the graduate and Ph.D. level in the History Theory Criticism program (HTC) of the Department of Architecture.
E-mail: mmj4(AT)mit.edu
Igor Klimov
Professor Igor Olegovich Klimov is a graduate of Kharkov Civil Engineering Institute, Kharkov, Ukraine (M. Sc. in Architecture, 1984) and University of the South Africa, UNISA, Pretoria, RSA, (PhD., 2003) Prof. Klimov’s main affiliation is as a Professor of the Department of Innovation Technologies in Architectural Environment Design, Kharkov State Technical University of Construction and Architecture (KSTUCA), Kharkov, Ukraine. There he teaches -History and Theory of Arts and Architecture; – Sacred Architecture & Sacred Art, – Semantics of Architecture, – Iconography of Sacred Architecture; – Ecological Architecture; – Digital Technologies in Architectural Design. Prof. Klimov has published 11 monographs, 8 manuscripts. Since 2003 he is a member of the International Experts Committee of the Romualdo Del Bianco Foundation in Florence, Italy. Prof. Klimov’s fields of interest are philosophy, common history, history of religions, mythology, ethnic cultures peculiarities, anthology of early music, fine art, industrial & artistic design, technique & engineering, biology and dendrology. He is an expert in sacred art, church architecture and ecological architecture and an icon painter.
E-mail: IngwarKlimov(AT)gmail.com
Davit Koiava
David Koiava was born in Tbilisi 1956. He studied in Tbilisi I. Nikoladze Art School during 1971-1975; during 1976-1981 he studied at Tbilisi State Art Academy in the faculty of Decorative and Applied Art. He is a member of the Designers’ Union from 1983. Davit is the author of three personal exhibitions and has participated in many group exhibitions in Georgia and abroad. Nowadays he manages ,,Art Design Academy” in Gorgasali Institute. He is a professor. His creative activity has developed in jumping intervals; in certain periods, he has unintentionally collected over time emotions, impressions, energy – and then suddenly and spontaneously, he carries over all this to canvas, board, or thick felt. The works of Davit Koiava are immediate and independent. It seems that he gave us the very impressions and emotions that he felt inside him by one breath and one brave stroke of the paint brush.
E-mail: E-mail: 893931221 (AT) mail.ru
Elena Kriukova
Elena Kriukova is a graduate of Moscow State Conservatory named after P. Tchaikovsky (piano and pipe organ, 1980), and Literary Arts College named after M. Gorky (Moscow), Department of Poetry, Anatoliy Jigulin’s Workshop (1989). She participated in concept performances as a pianist and organist. Worked in Nizhny Novgorod Conservatory, in Irkutsk Opera Theater, in the Center of the Organ Art in Moscow. Performed in the cities of Siberia, in Kiev, the Baltic countries and in France. Edited books and magazines for publishers in Moscow. Elena Kriukova is an author, curator, and art historian of the International Cultural Movement “East – West”. The movement “East – West” consists of art projects and cultural programs (visual arts, non-commercial book publishing and cinema). In 2004-2007 the “East – West” projects were presented in Paris, Marseille, Eks (France), Brussels (Belgium), Aachen, Kassel (Germany), Lintz (Austria), Berlin (Germany), Brno (Czech Republic), Los Angeles (USA, “Shadow of an Arrow” novel). The goal of the movement is to find the unity between two mega cultures of the East and the West in the familiar systems of the artists in different countries. Elena Kriukova is a writer. She has almost twenty published books. Her poems are included in famous anthologies of Russian poetry published abroad (anthology “Garden of Eden”, compiled by G. Klimova, 2000, Varna). The art of Elena Kriukova has attracted the attention of film-makers (V. Kromin, N. Shirokiy, A. Bormatov, S. Lepskiy, Moscow; A. Dedikov, Rome). She is the author of the movie script based on her book “Shadow of an Arrow”, as well as other four movie scripts – “The Last Summer of Iokanaan”, “Horsewoman”, “The Death Mountain”, “Delirium”. In 2007 they started to work on the full-length feature film based on Kriukova’s novel “Exile from Eden”.
E-mail: elena_kriukova(AT)mail.ru
Victor Shadrin
Dr. Victor Shadrin is a graduate of the Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia (1978) and Ph.D. (Moscow State University, 1985). His dissertation topic was ” Spring hillside slides in central parts of Russia: problems of water erosion” . He was born in Almaty, Kazakhstan in 1951, and came to the United States in 1992. Formerly a scientific researcher in the Geographical Institute, he had occupied a number of positions, scientific and administrative and lead the Department of Hydro-meteorological Monitoring at the Kursk Field Station of the Institute of Geography, Kursk Oblast, U.S.S.R. from 1985 to 1992. He participated in an international experiment on conducting climate change monitoring in a joint project with the USA in 1987. He became a United States citizen in 1999. Since 1998, he has resided in Portland, Oregon and is owner of VTS Transportation, a private company in Portland, Oregon, USA.
E-mail: vicshadrin(AT)gmail.com
Yelyzaveta Klimova
Connection of markets for the difficult flesh of the countries Ukraine, France, Germany, China, Israel, Russian Federation and the USA with tank tracks rhythm Vladimir.
John Reed did not curse and did not die from Russia.
The architectural world is presented by the creator of nutritional product for survival mode Yelyzaveta Klimova.
Yelyzaveta graduated with Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Architecture and Civil Engineering from Kharkiv National University of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Ukraine.
Her interculturality in education makes a valuable contribution through Yelyzaveta’s creative personality to America.
There will be a wall.
But then the wall is only a friend, the dynamics of the process.
James Woods
Honorary Board Member
03.24.1931 – 11.20.2020
In Memoriam: James A. Woods, S.J.
Dean James Woods, S. J., A.B., M.A.T., S.T.B. Boston College, Ed.D. Boston University. After entering the Society of Jesus in 1948, Fr. Woods studied at Boston College at the undergraduate and graduate levels, receiving his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1954, a Master of Arts degree in teaching in 1961 and a bachelor of sacred theology degree in 1962. Fr. Woods received his doctorate in education from Boston University in 1977. He was ordained a Catholic priest in 1961.Fr. Woods’ career as a Boston College administrator began in 1958 when he was named registrar of the School of Liberal Studies, the School of Philosophy and the School of Theology. He served as registrar of the University from 1972 to 1975. Since 1988 he has overseen a scholarship fund he established at the night school to aid aspiring local students. He has taught as an instructor in the graduate program at Boston College’s Lynch School of Education since 1978.Fr. Woods, dean for 34 years of the College of Advancing Studies, formerly the Evening College at BC, was granted an honor no other Jesuit at Boston College had ever garnered: The school he headed was being renamed in his honor. It is now known as the James A. Woods Society of Jesus College of Advancing Studies.
Eugene Magerovsky
Honorary Board Member
12.11.1934 – 01.18.2009
A Tribute to Eugene Magerovsky
Dr. Eugene L’vovich Magerovsky was a University professor, cum laude graduate of the City College of New York (1956), 1957 alumnus of the Russian Institute (M.A., Columbia, 1956) and Ph.D. (Columbia, 1975). He was born in Prague, Czechoslovakia, in 1934, and came to the United States in 1948. Formerly U.S. Army colonel in strategic intelligence, he had occupied a number of command, operational and administrative positions and had taught at the U.S. National Defense University, National U.S. War College and U.S. Army Institute of Advanced Russian and East European Studies. He had taught Russian history and political science at the Graduate School of Georgetown University where he was co-director of the Russian Area Studies Program. He had been Associate Director of the Institute of Soviet Studies at Middlebury College. He was also Vice-President of the Russian Expert Commission Abroad, an inquiry into the fate of the remains of the members of the Russian Imperial House murdered by the Communists on July 17th, 1918, in Ekaterinburg, Russia, and the matter of restoration of the indigenous legal order in Russia.
Volodymyr Chayka
Honorary Board Member
Dec 2012 – March 2013
Vladimir Dmitrievich Chayka was born on October 5, 1948 in the town of Berislav, Kherson region, Ukraine.
In 1976 Vladimir Chayka graduated from the Nikolaev Shipbuilding Institute thus fulfilling his ancient dream to become an engineer. In 1986 he defended his dissertation in Kiev Engineering-Construction Institute and received a Kandidat’s degree in technical sciences.
From 1966 till 1971 he worked at the Shipyard named after 61 Communards, then on the “Dormashina” (road machines) plant.
In 1987 he participated in the elimination of the Chernobyl Atomic Power Station catastrophe consequences – was sent to coordinate the housing construction for people, moved from the estrangement zone.
In 1991 Vladimir Chayka became the head of Nikolaev Regional Directorate of the Pension Fond, where he developed new methods of registering the retired people and paying the pensions, based on computer technologies, that allowed to make payments regularly and orderly.
In June 2000 Vladimir Chayka was elected a Mayor of Nikolaev, and in March 2002 – reelected at the same position.
In May of 2012 Fermata Arts Foundation representatives met Mayor Chayka.
Fermata was organizing his visit to New England for April of 2013.
On 2 March 2013, Mayor of Nikolaev Vladimir Chayka passed away.