Museum of Folk Arts

The Museum of Folk Arts opened in Yerevan in 1978, built around the collection and vision of Hovhannes Sharambeyan, who founded it and served as its first director. It's named for him today. The idea was straightforward: gather the work of self-taught masters, not academy-trained artists, and give it a proper home.

The holdings span carpet and rug weaving, embroidery and lace, painting, and artistic work in metal, wood and stone, plus pottery. These are crafts that in many households were practical skills passed down rather than taught in workshops — a grandmother's lace pattern, a village blacksmith's ironwork, a potter's wheel running in someone's yard. The museum treats them as art in their own right, displayed rather than tucked away as domestic objects.

It's a compact way to see the range of Armenian folk craft in one stop, useful if you want context before hunting for carpets or ceramics in the markets and shops around the city.