PARADISE LOST: SEPARATE BUT EQUAL?
The first Roma Pavilion will open at the 52nd Venice Biennale on June 7, 2007 at 4:30 p.m. to invited guests. The Pavilion, located on the piano nobile of the 16th-century Palazzo Pisani Santa Marina, Calle delle Erbe, in the Canareggio district, will feature the premiere of “Paradise Lost,” an exhibition featuring the work of sixteen contemporary Roma artists representing eight European countries. At 6:00 p.m., following the grand opening festivities, there will be a panel discussion involving European cultural and political leaders, including Roma artists and commentators. They will address some of the fundamental questions and controversy inherent in this first Biennale Pavilion created along ethnic lines: Is a separate Roma Pavilion necessary? Is there such a thing as “Roma art”? Does creating a separate space for Roma artists help or hinder social inclusion?
World renowned film director Wim Wenders sees the Pavilion as an opportunity “to correct our image of the largest minority in Europe, which is still shaped by Gypsy romance and Gypsy kitsch.” For centuries, Roma people have been romanticized by non-Roma artists, who have conjured up images of barefoot dancers happily banging on tambourines. At the same time, works created by Roma artists have been relegated to the level of kitsch by mainstream European arbiters of culture. The ultimate goal of ‘Paradise Lost’ is to destroy the exotic stereotype of the “Gypsies” that has been prevalent in Europe since the 19th century and to put Roma artists on an equal footing in the international art world.
According to Tímea Junghaus, curator of the exhibition, “It is our belief that the identity of the Roma serves as a model for a modern, European transnational identity that is capable of cultural fusion and adaptation to changing circumstances. This is how the invited artists represent themselves, and this is how they experience their Gypsy identity.”
The Roma Pavilion, alongside the Biennale’s national pavilions, marks the arrival of Roma contemporary culture on the international stage and sends an important message: Roma have a vital role to play in the cultural and political landscape of Europe.
The participating artists in ‘Paradise Lost’ include:
Daniel BAKER: Born in St Mary, Kent, Great Britain,1961; lives and works in London.
Tibor BALOGH: Born in Fehérgyarmat, Hungary, 1975 ; lives and works in Budapest. Mihaela Ionela CIMPEANU: Born in Bailesti, Romania,1981; lives and works in Bucharest.
Gabi JIMENEZ: Born in Paris, 1964; lives and works in Marines (Val-d’Oise), France. András KÁLLAI: Born in Kerepestarcsa, Hungary, 1982; lives and works in London.
Damian LE BAS: Born in Sheffield, Great Britain, 1963; lives and works in Worthing (West-Sussex).
Delaine LE BAS: Born in Worthing (West-Sussex), Great Britain, 1965; lives and works there.
Kiba LUMBERG: Born in Lappeenranta, Finland,1956; lives and works in Helsinki.
OMARA [ Mara OLÁH] : Born in Monor, Hungary, 1945; lives and works in Szarvasgede, Hungary.
Marian PETRE: Born in Draganesti-Olt, Romania, 1963; lives and works in Bucharest. Nihad Nino PUŠIJA: Born in Sarajevo, Bosnia, 1965; lives and works in Berlin.
Jenő André RAATZSCH: Born in Ilmenau, Germany, 1978; lives and works in Nurnberg. János RÉVÉSZ: Born in Budapest, Hungary, 1984; lives and works there.
Dusan RISTIC: Born in Valjevo, Serbia, 1970; lives and works in San Francisco, California.
István SZENTANDRÁSSY: Born in Budapest, Hungary, 1957; lives and works in Budapest; Norbert SZIRMAI: Born in Hódmezővásárhely, Hungary, 1981; lives and works in Budapest.
Curator:
Tímea JUNGHAUS, (Hungary), art historian, curator, Roma Cultural Participation Project, Arts and Culture Network Program, Open Society Institute–Budapest.
Organizers of the Roma Pavilion are the Open Society Institute (Hungary), the Allianz Kulturstiftung (Germany) and the European Cultural Foundation (the Netherlands).
The Roma Pavilion will be open to the public from 10 June – 21 November, 10:00a.m.-6:00p.m. Closed Mondays.
