Still Here, Still Bleeding
To commemorate the 100 year anniversary of the Armenian genocide - formally recognised by only 22 countries around the world - Audio Kultur, an subculture print magazine in Beirut, dedicated an entire issue to the contributions of Armenians in Beirut to Lebanese culture. A history of conflict and violence has meant that anything political is a big turn off for young people in Beirut. So, if we were going to connect meaningfully with our audience, we knew we’d have to cut through the stale political rhetoric and make a bold, emotional statement. ...And what could be bolder than blood?
“Still Here, Still Bleeding” - the name of the issue and the creative treatment of the problem was developed in recognition of the pain felt by a generation of Armenians, marginalised and sidelined by their context, and the life blood running through the veins of modern Armenian culture. The same blood that we used to print the magazines pages with.
Spurred on by the reaction to the film and special edition of the magazine, we called on the public to join us in celebrating the ongoing cultural contributions of the Armenian community in an Audio Kultur hosted on the event’s 100 year anniversary.
The results were phenomenal. The campaign was picked up by leading regional broadcaster LBC as well as Dezeen, NPR, Creative Criminals and even the Hungarian government, where it was discussed in parliament. The magazine was able to distribute every single issue it printed and over 30,000 people attended the commemoration event.