Vienna festival reverses exclusion of Artsakh Armenian cultural ensembles

VIENNA – Organizers of an international festival in Vienna have decided to issue new invitations to Artsakh Armenian cultural ensembles following controversy over their earlier exclusion.

The Artsakh Cultural Preservation Centre announced that the World Festival Association (WOFA) reconsidered its decision during an extraordinary organizing committee meeting and agreed to invite the ensembles to participate in the festival scheduled for March 2027.

The initial cancellation reportedly followed objections from diplomatic representatives who linked the cultural groups to alleged separatist activities. In correspondence cited by the Centre, the ensembles were also characterized as a dangerous group.

The Centre welcomed the reversal as an important development in defending Armenian cultural rights but stressed that several questions remain unanswered.

It is seeking clarification on which diplomatic representatives submitted the allegations, what evidence supported them, and how those claims influenced the original cancellation.

WOFA has also indicated that it will seek guidance from the European Union on handling similar situations in the future.

The dispute has drawn attention to the challenges facing Artsakh Armenian cultural institutions following the forced displacement of the region’s Armenian population in 2023.

For the Centre, the new invitations represent meaningful progress, but not a complete resolution. It maintains that artistic participation and cultural identity must be protected from unfounded allegations and political pressure.