TUMO S T U D I O S

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PUTTING YOUR MARK ON CONTEMPORARY ARMENIAN DESIGN

If you have a burning passion for creating and designing, join us and our network of acclaimed designers and artisans to shape your own Armenian-inspired contemporary products.

At TUMO Studios, you will acquire new technical and design skills and gain hands-on practice in product creation. You will work towards developing your own product line, which you will be able to promote in partnership with TUMO Studios or get assistance in creating your own brand and personal studio.

BECOME A STUDENT

TUMO Studios offers free of charge technical courses and design ateliers for imaginative individuals looking to tap into their artistic potential. If you have a burning passion for creating and designing and are between the ages of 16 and 28, join us and our network of internationally acclaimed designers to shape your own artisanal, Armenian-inspired products while putting your own mark on contemporary Armenian design.

Learn more

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PROGRAM

The TUMO Studios educational program consists of technical courses and design ateliers. You will determine your own pace, designing a personal schedule around the standard program timeline.

Build up your skills in a beginner level technical course. Technical courses are currently available in jewelry making, ceramics, pattern making, embroidery, and silk screen printing.
In parallel to the technical course, you will be able to participate in design ateliers with local and international experts.

Duration of a technical course: 3 – 12 months
Minimum requirement: 1 technical course

Hone your craft by participating in design ateliers and diving deeper into a focus area. With each atelier you complete you will add more products to your portfolio, and will round out your set of skills and knowhow.
Students are required to participate in a minimum of 1 technical course and 12 design ateliers to complete the TUMO Studios educational program.

Duration of a design atelier: 2 – 4 weeks
Minimum requirement: 12 design ateliers

If you complete at least 1 technical course and 12 design ateliers, you will have the opportunity to design and produce an original collection of products for TUMO Studios and showcase your work in exhibitions.

Duration of residency: 1 year

In parallel to your studies, you will have many opportunities to advance and improve your craftsmanship and design skills. TUMO Studios provides students who have shown commitment and excellence with opportunities to study abroad, do internships with renowned designers, work on product development and production, and take part in exhibitions.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Anyone residing in Armenia and between the ages of 16 and 28 can become a TUMO Studios student. No prior knowledge or background is required to participate in our technical courses.

Design ateliers require some basic experience. For participation, you will be asked to provide a selection of your work.

Apply to become a TUMO Studios student by completing an application form online or in person at TUMO Studios.

TUMO Studios technical courses and design ateliers are free of charge.

TUMO Studios currently offers technical courses in jewelry making, ceramics, pattern making, embroidery, and printmaking. Two admissions rounds are held per year for technical courses in April and October. The technical courses are taught by permanent staff at TUMO Studios.

Each technical course has different schedules. Students will have the flexibility to determine their own schedules when fulfilling them. For example, students can work in three hour sessions, two times a week. Schedules are provided upon acceptance.

Students may take more than one technical course at a time, provided that they complete the designated hours for each.

*Technical courses do not limit the kind of design ateliers that can be taken later. For example, a student who has taken a technical course in jewelry making may participate in a printmaking design atelier.

A design atelier is an educational workshop in any of our focus areas led by a visiting expert from Armenia or abroad.

Design ateliers last between two weeks and one month long, and they are held throughout the year. When in session, they take place five days a week, Monday through Friday, 11:00 – 15:00 or 16:00 – 20:00.

Design ateliers are announced two to three weeks ahead of their start date. Space is limited and enrollment depends on the requirements of the atelier and the portfolio submitted by the applicant.

Students are required to participate in a minimum of 1 technical course and 12 design ateliers to complete the TUMO Studios educational program.

Completing the full educational program can take anywhere from two to three years depending on the study pace of the student and the duration of the courses.

By participating in the TUMO Studios program, you gain technical and design skills around a certain craft and create your own portfolio of products.

You will learn from expert artisans and designers, have opportunities to study abroad, participate in internships, gain employment and exhibit your work publicly.

UPCOMING DESIGN ATELIERS

Smocked tote bags

Duration: April 3 – May 5
Scheduling: Monday to Friday, 11։00 – 15։00
Deadline to apply: March 26

Join Nensi Avetisian and Karen Grigorian at TUMO Studios to create smocked tote bags.

During the atelier, students will learn concept development skills, pleating techniques, and conduct research on accessory development and creation. There will be a special emphasis on researching carvings and architectural features of Armenian churches to create motifs for the smocked tote bag details.

Each student will create at least one smocked tote bag, going through the entire production process.

The atelier will last four weeks and be divided into three stages:

April 3-14: First stage includes research of Armenian church carvings and architectural features, sketching and ideation, and fabric selection with Nensi Avetisian.
April 17-28: Second stage focuses on learning pleating techniques and preparing fabrics with Karen Grigorian.
May 2-5: Third stage involves designing and sewing the final prototype with Nensi Avetisian.

Apply

Hollow jewelry

Duration: April 3 – 14
Scheduling: Monday to Friday, 16։00 – 20։00
Deadline to apply: March 27
Language: English

Kim Buck and Hongxia Wang, jewelry masters from Copenhagen, will help to facilitate the fluid relationship between making and imagining by learning about techniques to create hollow jewelry.

Join the hollow jewelry atelier at TUMO Studios.

During the atelier, students will learn how to properly execute the new press forming technique that will be introduced, as well as how to take into consideration design and concept. By the end of the atelier, each participant is expected to have produced a small collection of jewelry using the hollow technique.

Apply

Papier-mache furniture

Duration: April 10 – 28
Scheduling: Monday to Friday, 16։00 – 20։00
Deadline to apply: April 2
Language: English

We’re introducing a new product design atelier at TUMO Studios on April 10th and it’s unlike anything you’ve seen before! The atelier will be led by Iranian artist Ali Honarvar.

Ali creates sculptures, works in product design, and makes digital art. The atelier will feature a demonstration of a new method he has developed for making product design objects using clay and papier-mâché. This industrial design technique will transport students to new dimensions of creativity, as they are inspired to create a stunning coffee table and chairs.

Apply

Hollow jewelry

Duration: April 3 – 14
Scheduling: Monday to Friday, 16։00 – 20։00
Deadline to apply: March 27
Language: English

Kim Buck and Hongxia Wang, jewelry masters from Copenhagen, will help to facilitate the fluid relationship between making and imagining by learning about techniques to create hollow jewelry.

Join the hollow jewelry atelier at TUMO Studios.

During the atelier, students will learn how to properly execute the new press forming technique that will be introduced, as well as how to take into consideration design and concept. By the end of the atelier, each participant is expected to have produced a small collection of jewelry using the hollow technique.

Apply

UPCOMING technical courses

Jewelry Making

Duration: April – October (6 months)
Schedule: 4 hours weekly
Deadline to apply: March 26
Language: Armenian
Led by: Shushan Ayvazyan

Duration: April – October (6 months)
Schedule: 4 hours weekly
Deadline to apply: March 26
Language: Armenian
Led by: Shushan Ayvazyan

Start creating the jewelry you’ve always looked for! You’ll learn the fundamentals of jewelry making by working with different materials and translating your vision into a reality.

The courses will take place at TUMO Studios (Pushkin 38).

Apply

Ceramics

Duration: 12 months (April – March)
Schedule: 4 hours weekly
Deadline to apply: March 26
Language: Armenian
Led by: Vardan Aghabekyan

Duration: 12 months
Schedule: 4 hours weekly
Deadline to apply: March 26
Language: Armenian
Led by: Vardan Aghabekyan

The ceramics technical course at TUMO Studios starts with feeling the clay in your hands, crafting the details of the final product, and ends with becoming a pro at the pottery wheel.

The course will take place at TUMO Studios (Pushkin 38).

Apply

Pattern Making

Duration: April – October (6 months)
Schedule: 4 hours weekly
Deadline to apply: March 26
Language: Armenian
Led by: Anna Rafayelyan

 

Duration: April – October (6 months)
Schedule: 4 hours weekly
Deadline to apply: March 26
Language: Armenian
Led by: Anna Rafayelyan

Students at TUMO Studios will discover the secrets of pattern making as well as basic and freehand technical modeling during the pattern making technical course.

The courses will take place at TUMO Studios (Pushkin 38).

Apply

Embroidery

Duration: 6 months
Schedule: Tuesday and Thursday 19:00 – 20:00 online
Saturday 11։00 – 15։00 offline
Deadline to apply: March 26
Language: Armenian
Led by: Mariam Gharibyan

Duration: 12 months
Schedule: Tuesday and Thursday 19:00 – 20:00 online
Saturday 11։00 – 15։00 offline
Deadline to apply: March 26
Language: Armenian
Led by: Mariam Gharibyan

During the six month technical course, you will learn about crochet, macramé, and five types of Armenian embroidery styles: Urfa, Sebastia, Marash, Van, and Ayntap.

The courses will take place at TUMO Studios (Pushkin 38).

Apply

Silk Screen Printing

Duration: April – July (3 months)
Schedule: Monday and Thursday 13:00 – 15:30
Deadline to apply: March 26
Language: Armenian
Led by: Armine Margaryan

Duration: April – July (3 months)
Schedule: Monday and Thursday 13:00 – 15:30
Deadline to apply: March 26
Language: Armenian
Led by: Armine Margaryan

During the course, you will get the practical knowledge of silk screen printing and learn how to transfer your designs onto materials like fabric or paper.

The courses will take place at TUMO Studios (Pushkin 38).

Apply

Ceramics

Duration: 12 months
Schedule: 4 hours weekly
Deadline to apply: March 26
Language: Armenian
Led by: Vardan Aghabekyan

Duration: 12 months
Schedule: 4 hours weekly
Deadline to apply: March 26
Language: Armenian
Led by: Vardan Aghabekyan

The ceramics technical course at TUMO Studios starts with feeling the clay in your hands, crafting the details of the final product, and ends with becoming a pro at the pottery wheel.

The course will take place at TUMO Studios (Pushkin 38).

Apply

Theory

Family, memory and design

Duration: March 6
Scheduling: Monday 18:00 – 20:00
Deadline to apply: February 26

How influential is family history and photo archives in a designer’s life?

On March 6 at TUMO Studios we will discuss all of this and more with Liudmila Aliabieva and Nensi Avetisyan during the Family, Memories and Design lecture.

Liudmila Aliabieva: PhD, Editor-in-Chief of Russian Fashion Theory: the Journal of Dress, Body & Culture, editor of the Fashion Theory Journal Library series, Head of the PhD Programme in Fine and Applied Arts and Architecture at the Higher School of Economics Research Institute in Moscow, lecturer in Critical and Cultural Studies at the British Higher School of Art and Design.

Nensi Avetisyan: Moscow-based designer of Armenian origin. Nensi creates clothing together with her art pieces experimenting with philosophic and aesthetic pursuits. The clothing and accessories are inspired by Russian and Armenian traditions, culture, and craft. By using the same handmade materials, techniques and principles applied in her artwork but in garment development as part of any collection she questions the problem of differentiation between fashion and art.

Apply