Since 1991 National Gallery of Armenia
In 1991, the Republic of Armenia entered a new historical and political era by declaring its independence. This was undoubtedly a landmark event, fulfilling a centuries-old aspiration of the Armenian people. However, this historic achievement was accompanied by numerous challenges facing the newly established republic, which inevitably affected the country's cultural life. Armenia entered a period of severe political, socio-economic, and cultural crisis. Alongside all the nation's scientific and cultural institutions, the State Gallery of Armenia was also destined to endure the hardships of the time.

In 1991, art historian Shahen Khachatryan, a distinguished figure in Armenian culture, was appointed Director of the Gallery. Having previously worked in the Armenian Fine Arts Department of the State Gallery of Armenia and served as Director of the Martiros Saryan Museum since its establishment in 1967, he brought extensive professional experience to the institution. In the same year, the country's largest art museum was officially renamed the National Gallery of Armenia (NGA).

Also in 1991, the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Armenia approved the Gallery's new charter. The former departments of Ancient and Medieval Armenian Art and Modern and Contemporary Armenian Art were merged into a single Department of Armenian Fine Arts. Likewise, the Departments of Russian Art and Foreign Art were unified into one Department of Foreign Art.

Overall, the 1990s were a particularly difficult period for the Gallery. Researchers and curators were no longer able to participate in conferences and professional training programs held in the major cultural centers of the former Soviet Union. At the same time, maintaining professional ties with foreign museums and cultural institutions became increasingly challenging.

Nevertheless, even under these difficult circumstances, the staff of the National Gallery remained committed to fulfilling the institution's mission. In 1992, the Gallery reopened with a renewed permanent exhibition. Between 1991 and 2000, approximately 130 exhibitions were organized, presenting works from the museum's collections alongside solo exhibitions by contemporary artists. Among the most notable were Three Worlds of Color, featuring works by Martiros Saryan, Harutyun Kalents, and Minas Avetisyan, as well as The Song of the Sea (Hovhannes Aivazovsky and His Followers), held in Marseille, both of which received outstanding public and critical acclaim.

During this period, following the lifting of the "Iron Curtain," the Armenian Diaspora assumed an increasingly significant role in the life of the National Gallery. The museum's collection, much of which had originally been formed through donations, continued to grow thanks to generous contributions from Armenians living abroad.

In the mid-1990s, after a long interruption in Armenian cultural publishing, the National Gallery and the newly established Sargis Khachents Publishing House jointly published Armenian translations of major art historical works. The Gallery also issued its first trilingual guidebook, along with the albums Armenian Painters of the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries and Christian Armenia–1700.

In 2002, painter and professor Paravon Mirzoyan was appointed Director of the National Gallery of Armenia. Owing to his energetic leadership, the Gallery's collection management, research, educational, and public outreach activities gained new momentum. That same year, by order of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Armenia, the state institution "National Gallery of Armenia" was reorganized as the National Gallery of Armenia State Non-Commercial Organization (SNCO).

On May 18, 2004, following extensive renovations supported by the Lincy Foundation, the National Gallery of Armenia reopened to visitors with a renewed permanent exhibition. Since its reopening, the Gallery entered a particularly productive period of activity. While remaining firmly committed to the fundamental principles of an academic museum—collecting, preserving, researching, and promoting artistic heritage through exhibitions and scholarly publications—it also significantly expanded the scope of its activities. During these years, the Gallery acquired a substantial number of museum objects, enriching its permanent exhibition with new collections of decorative and applied arts from Ancient Greece and Ancient Egypt, graphic works by Edgar Chahine, art from China, Japan, Iran, and India, Western European clocks dating from the eighteenth to the twentieth centuries, and sculptures by Hakob Gyurjyan.

In 2004, following renovation works, the National Gallery's library was also refurbished and equipped with modern archival storage facilities and library furnishings, providing improved conditions for the preservation and accessibility of its extensive collection of publications.

In the same year, the Public Relations Department was established. Beginning in 2008, in addition to promoting the museum's activities to the public, the department also assumed responsibility for educational and scholarly outreach. Later, in 2016, a separate Education Department was created to conduct research into the educational and aesthetic needs of various target audiences. The department develops thematic, interactive educational programs tailored to different age groups and social communities. Each program undergoes comprehensive methodological, terminological, and content evaluation. The department collaborates with numerous public and private schools, universities, other educational institutions, and non-governmental organizations. It also organizes seasonal schools, lectures, professional training courses, workshops, educational games, and a variety of other learning initiatives. Since 2009, students from universities across Armenia have also served as museum volunteers, making a significant contribution to the Gallery's activities.

During this period, cooperation with Moscow's leading I. Grabar All-Russian Art Research and Restoration Centre, which had originally begun during the Soviet era, was revitalized. The Gallery's conservators and restoration specialists have regularly undergone professional training in the Centre's restoration workshops.

Over these years, the National Gallery organized approximately 230 exhibitions in Armenia and abroad. Exhibition activities, which have always constituted one of the Gallery's principal scholarly and public outreach functions, expanded considerably during the past two decades through the broader presentation of its rich collections, the organization of anniversary exhibitions dedicated to eminent artists, and numerous other projects. Particularly noteworthy were the exhibitions commemorating the 150th anniversary of Vardges Sureniants and the 125th anniversary of Georgy Yakulov, both of which attracted considerable public attention. The Gallery has also continued to promote Armenian classical fine art internationally through regularly organized exhibitions abroad.

In early February 2007, an exhibition of works by Hovhannes Aivazovsky opened at the National Maritime Museum in Paris. The exhibition was organized as part of the official Year of Armenia in France program.

On September 14, 2010, the exhibition Two Colors of the Rainbow, Two Reflections of Destiny… opened at the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts in Moscow, marking the museum's centenary. The exhibition featured 103 works selected from the collections of the National Gallery of Armenia, the Yervand Kochar Museum, and the Martiros Saryan House-Museum.

On June 18, 2014, the State Art Gallery in Sopot hosted the opening of the exhibitions Hovhannes Aivazovsky: Time and Eternity and The Polish-Armenian Teodor Axentowicz.

The National Gallery of Armenia also increasingly hosted exhibitions featuring works by internationally renowned artists. Among the most remarkable was the 2011 exhibition Dalí and the Surrealists, which generated unprecedented interest and received widespread acclaim among Armenian audiences.

During the past two decades, the Gallery's publishing activities have expanded significantly. It regularly prepares and publishes monographs, albums, scholarly catalogues, temporary exhibition catalogues, brochures, and other publications. All publications undergo rigorous scholarly editing, linguistic and stylistic revision, translation, proofreading, graphic design, and professional layout.

The Gallery has continued to enrich its collections through both donations and acquisitions.

Beginning in 2005, the National Gallery hosted the annual National Gallery Classical Music Festival for nearly a decade. Held in the Gallery's Hall of Murals, the festival brought together music and the visual arts, offering Armenian audiences a unique opportunity to experience the harmonious dialogue between these two artistic disciplines.

The National Gallery of Armenia actively participates in a number of international initiatives. Since 2005, it has annually taken part in the International Museum Night program, which has become widely recognized and popular among the public, as well as the European Heritage Days celebrations. In cooperation with the embassies accredited to the Republic of Armenia, the Gallery also regularly hosts cultural days dedicated to various countries.

In 2015, art historian, Honored Worker of Culture of the Republic of Armenia, and Candidate of Art History Arman Tsaturyan was appointed Director of the National Gallery of Armenia. Under his leadership, the Gallery embarked on an ambitious program aimed at strengthening its scholarly and exhibition activities, modernizing the museum, and aligning its operations with international museum standards.

During the five years of Arman Tsaturyan's directorship, extensive efforts were undertaken to modernize, promote, and broaden public access to the museum. Among the most significant achievements were the comprehensive renovation of several exhibition halls, the modernization of the museum's security systems, professional training programs for staff members from various scholarly departments, the organization of international conferences, the presentation of major exhibitions that attracted unprecedented visitor numbers, the expansion of educational and public programs, and the publication of numerous catalogues and albums. Innovative initiatives were also introduced, including the launch of the museum's online shop, allowing art enthusiasts to purchase books, souvenirs, canvas reproductions, and a variety of museum merchandise.

Established in 2017, the Department of Marketing and Intercultural Relations has implemented a wide range of projects aimed at increasing museum attendance, expanding the network of partners and sponsors, and promoting the National Gallery both in Armenia and internationally. In 2020, the former Public Relations Department was incorporated into this division. In addition to covering the Gallery's exhibitions and events and organizing press conferences, the department manages the museum's official social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and Tripadvisor.

During these years, the National Gallery organized 263 exhibitions in Armenia and abroad as part of its scholarly, exhibition, and public outreach activities. Their principal mission was to present and promote Armenian art and culture to both domestic and international audiences. Another significant achievement of this period was the presentation of prestigious international exhibitions featuring works by renowned artists and important collections from abroad.

Among the Gallery's most significant exhibitions and scholarly events were the following:

On December 4, 2015, the exhibition Yeghishe Tadevossian: A Retrospective. From the Collections of the National Gallery of Armenia and Vahagn Grigoryan opened to mark the 145th anniversary of the birth of Armenia's first plein-air painter. For the first time, the exhibition presented a comprehensive selection of Tadevosyan's works, including small-scale studies, more than eighty sketches, valuable materials from the artist's correspondence, and rare historical photographs.

On October 5–6, 2016, the Gallery's Halls of Armenian Old and Medieval Art hosted an international conference dedicated to the 125th anniversary of Ruben Drambyan, the founder of Armenian museology, an outstanding museum professional, and a distinguished contributor to the development of Armenian culture.

On September 15, 2017, the exhibition Hovhannes Aivazovsky: Creation opened, commemorating the 200th anniversary of the birth of the world-renowned Armenian marine painter. The exhibition remained open for nearly four months and featured 52 paintings, 26 graphic works, one example of decorative and applied art, and 20 archival documents. For the first time in Armenia, visitors had the opportunity to view the celebrated painting Chaos: The Creation of the World from the collection of the Mekhitarist Congregation of Venice. During the exhibition, the Gallery recorded an all-time attendance record of approximately 60,000 visitors.

On September 15–16, 2017, the Halls of Armenian Old and Medieval Art also hosted the international conference The Boundaries of Marine Painting, dedicated to the bicentenary of Hovhannes Aivazovsky's birth.

On June 28, 2018, the anniversary exhibition Minas: Old and Entirely New opened to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the birth of Minas Avetisyan.

On March 7, 2020, the exhibition Dalí and Picasso opened, presenting 260 works by Salvador Dalí and Pablo Picasso—including sculptures, graphic works, and ceramics—from the private collection of philanthropist, collector, and President of the Iskusstvo Natsiy Foundation, Alexander Shadrin. Only a few days after its opening, however, the museum was forced to close due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Following its reopening in August, the Gallery welcomed approximately 10,000 visitors during the exhibition's final ten days, establishing an exceptional average daily attendance.

In June 2020, Marina Hakobyan assumed the leadership of the National Gallery of Armenia, becoming the first woman to serve as Director in the museum's century-long history.

Also in 2020, with funding provided by the Government of the Republic of Armenia, the National Gallery began dismantling its outdated climate-control system and installing a new temperature and humidity regulation system. As a result, the permanent exhibition was temporarily closed, and the museum's collections were transferred to specially prepared storage facilities.

In September 2020, a permanent exhibition hall dedicated to Yeghishe Tadevossian was inaugurated at the Mher Abeghyan Museum, a branch of the National Gallery in Vagharshapat, marking the 150th anniversary of the artist's birth.

In 2021, the Gallery opened a new rear entrance from Aram Street. In May, the temporary exhibition halls on the first floor became the venue for the project The Story of Restored Artworks, designed to introduce visitors to the museum's "behind-the-scenes" work by continuously presenting restored artworks together with the lengthy conservation processes behind them.

To commemorate the centenary of the National Gallery of Armenia, the Tenth International Seminar, Images of Memory: Advanced Technologies for the Preservation and Restoration of Manuscript and Printed Heritage, was held from June 14 to 19, 2021.

With the support of the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports of the Republic of Armenia, the National Gallery of Armenia has been implementing the "DasArvest" (ArtClass) educational and cultural program since 2022. The initiative is aimed at revitalizing cultural life in Armenia's regions and strengthening the connection between art and education.

Between 2020 and 2025, the National Gallery of Armenia underwent a comprehensive transformation, redefining itself as a contemporary, open, and internationally oriented cultural institution while remaining committed to its core mission.

In 2023, the Gallery established its Department of Fine Art Photography, expanding both its scholarly and exhibition capacities.

Between 2020 and 2025, through state funding, the Gallery's own revenues, and contributions from private partners, extensive renovation and modernization works were carried out across all eight floors of the Gallery's main building. These included the installation of new elevators in both the main and administrative buildings, modern lighting and video surveillance systems, climate-control equipment, and significant improvements to visitor services as well as the display, preservation, and security conditions of the collections. At the same time, six regional branches of the Gallery—in Yerevan and five provinces of Armenia—were renovated and modernized, contributing to the balanced development of cultural life throughout the country. In total, approximately 8,000 square meters of museum space were renovated and upgraded.

Following four years of renovation and modernization, the National Gallery of Armenia officially reopened its main building on April 15, 2025, unveiling a completely renewed permanent exhibition. One of the central objectives of the new curatorial concept is to present Armenian fine art as an integral and significant part of global art history. More than 400 artworks were brought out from the museum's storage collections and incorporated into the permanent exhibition, many of them displayed publicly for the first time, including unique examples of decorative and applied arts from the Gallery's "Golden Collection."

Today, visitors have the opportunity to admire masterpieces by leading figures of Armenian art, including Hakob Hovnatanyan, Hovhannes Aivazovsky, Vardges Sureniants, Yeghishe Tadevossian, Hakob Kojoyan, Georgy Yakulov, Martiros Saryan, Minas Avetisyan, and many others.

The permanent exhibition also features outstanding works by renowned representatives of the Italian Renaissance and Baroque—including Tintoretto, Donatello, Garofalo, Bernardo Strozzi, and Guercino—as well as artists of the Barbizon School such as Théodore Rousseau and Narcisse Virgilio Díaz de la Peña; masterpieces by the leading Realist Gustave Courbet; and works by masters of the Russian avant-garde including Wassily Kandinsky, Marc Chagall, Robert Falk, and others. Visitors can also explore remarkable examples of decorative and applied arts, including exceptional furniture, ceramics, jewelry, arms, and other objects, many of which are on public display for the first time.

Alongside the renovation process, the National Gallery carried out numerous major international research and exhibition projects in collaboration with leading cultural institutions from Italy, France, Germany, India, Poland, Russia, and other countries. The Gallery published dozens of albums and exhibition catalogues in Armenian and foreign languages, produced scholarly publications, and organized international conferences, including the large-scale international conference Impressionisms: Stories from the Margins held in Yerevan. During this period, the Gallery also launched its annual scholarly yearbook documenting its scientific activities, as well as a new series of exhibition catalogues.

The Gallery has collaborated with numerous internationally respected museums, publishers, academic institutions, and cultural journals, including the Rembrandt House Museum, the Oxford University Encyclopedia of Art, the Garage Museum of Contemporary Art, the State Hermitage Museum, the Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU) Magazine in New York, Medströms Publishing (Sweden), Belvedere Gallery, Le Figaro Histoire, Marsilio Editori (Italy), and others.

Over the past five years, the National Gallery has organized more than 300 exhibitions in Armenia and abroad, including Donors and Donations, The Story of a Restored Artwork, Our Mountains, Tele-Narratives, and numerous projects dedicated to contemporary art. Temporary exhibitions have increasingly incorporated innovative technologies, including digital projections, virtual reality environments, multimedia screens, and other interactive formats.

The National Gallery of Armenia houses the country's leading art conservation center and the only specialized painting restoration laboratory of its kind in Armenia.

During this period, through donations, acquisitions, and the state museum collection development program, the Gallery significantly enriched its holdings with works by both classical and contemporary artists, complete private collections, and unique examples of decorative and applied arts. New acquisitions include works by G. Bashinjaghian, S. Muradyan, A. Grigoryan, D. Kutateladze, H. Hakobyan, A. Chaqmaqchyan, G. Gyurjyan, T. Daderian, and others.

In 2025, with state funding provided through the Cultural Development Foundation, one of Arshile Gorky's artworks was acquired at Sotheby's auction house.

By decision of the Government of the Republic of Armenia and with the support of the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports, Minas Avetisyan's monumental murals Meeting and By the Khachkar were transferred from Government Building No. 1 to the Minas Avetisyan Museum branch in Jajur.

The Gallery implements a wide range of educational programs. Its target audiences have expanded significantly through the development of new educational initiatives in both Yerevan and the regions, contributing to the decentralization of museum activities across the country. Inclusive programs such as Talking Paintings and Tactile Architecture have been introduced, alongside specialized educational initiatives for inmates in penitentiary institutions under the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Armenia, making the Gallery increasingly accessible to diverse audiences. The Gallery's Summer School has also been completely restructured.

In 2025, the National Gallery of Armenia welcomed more than 105,000 visitors, recording the highest annual attendance in its history since its establishment.

In 2026, Marina Hakobyan was reappointed Director of the National Gallery of Armenia.

By studying international best practices and adapting its activities to the standards of the modern museum, the National Gallery of Armenia continues the national mission it began 105 years ago—preserving, interpreting, and transmitting Armenia's rich artistic and cultural heritage to future generations.

The collection of the National Gallery of Armenia represents an immense intellectual, cultural, and emotional resource, dedicated to presenting and revealing the treasures of Armenian and world art to both Armenian and international audiences.