Art has always had a significant impact on perception of the Roma community. For centuries the image of the Roma was determined by people outside the community by creating artworks stigmatizing and reproducing stereotypes. Today Roma artists are taking over the narrative. Art has become a tool to build their own narratives about themselves. On February 19, the Roma Community Center in Warsaw will host a meeting with Krzysztof Gil, an artist who will talk about the Roma creative perspective on the issue of identity. This will mark the inauguration of the Roma Studies 2.0 series.
– Stereotypical and unreflective depictions about the Roma are full of colorful folklore, splendor or extreme poverty. These are clichés that simplify reality,” Krzysztof Gil said in an interview.
How is today’s Roma community really like, and how much has the image of Roma and Roma in art changed since Roma artists took control of narrative construction? These and other questions will be answered by Krzysztof Gil – an artist who deals with historical topics related to the history of the Roma community, exclusion and oblivion in his artistic practice, and whose works have been seen in galleries in Warsaw, Berlin and London. The meeting with the artist will take place on February 19 (Monday) at the Roma Community Center in Warsaw. The start of the two-hour talk combined with a presentation at 6 pm.
Inauguration of Roma Studies 2.0 series
A meeting with Krzysztof Gil will inaugurate a series of meetings Roma Studies 2.0, that will become a permanent fixture at the Roma Community Center in Warsaw. Roma Studies 2.0 is proposal for a new look at the history and diversity of Roma communities in form of series of lectures, workshops and discussions.
We are working to dispel myths about Roma in order to counter deep-rooted stereotypes and prejudices. Meetings are organized as part of the Roma Studies 2.0 series that will serve to create public and opinionated discourses initiated by the Roma community, with the Roma community and the experts we invite. “We will cooperate with European and global academic, educational and cultural centers to take a comprehensive look at the various processes taking place in context of Roma identity and bring them closer to the Polish public,” says the originator of such series, Taras Gembik from the Foundation Towards Dialogue, that manages the Center.
Roma identity in hands of art: meeting with Krzysztof Gil
February the 19th (Monday), 6:00-8:00 PM
Roma Community Center (Skrzetuskiego 36a str., Warsaw)
Free entrance
Meeting is organized with the support of the Polish Red Cross.