Culture

Ladislava Gažiová: Romafuturism means change, the opportunity to reject a distorted history of the Roma

25.2.2018 10:19 A three-part series of pieces for the website Artalk.cz is dedicated to exhibiting and presenting art by Romani people and has culminated with an interview between the artist Laďa Gažiová and the curator of the tranzit initiative, Tereza Stejskalová. In the interview, Gažiová says that creating a collection of the literature produced by authors who are Romani in Europe is a very important step for emancipating Romani people and raising their self-confidence.  full story

Eduard Oláh, sculptor and stonemason who designed memorial to the Romani victims of Hodonín concentration camp, has passed away

13.2.2018 7:20 After a brief illness the sculptor and stonemason Eduard Oláh - Izrael Ben Eded has passed away at the age of 63. Funeral services were held on Tuesday, 7 February 2018, for the immediate family, which informed news server Romea.cz of his passing.  full story

Czech capital to see European Roma Institute for Arts and Culture presentation on support for Romani culture

9.2.2018 11:07 On Tuesday, 13 February a presentation will be made by the European Roma Institute for Arts and Culture (ERIAC), "SAR DIČOHA ROMAŇI KULTURA DUREDER? – BUDOUCNOST
ROMSKÉ KULTURY" (THE FUTURE OF ROMANI CULTURE) as part of an international conference to be followed by a cultural program that evening. The conference, entitled "Support for the Development of Roma Culture: Contemporary Challenges and Future Opportunities", will begin at 10 AM in the Gallery of the Czech Centres on Rytířská Street in Prague.  full story

Czech Republic: Romafuturismo Library holds its grand opening TODAY

1.2.2018 7:18 Today, 1 February, the grand opening of the Romafuturismo Library will take place at the tranzit office gallery and lecture space (Dittrichova 13, Prague 2). A marathon reading will begin at 7 AM and end at 7 PM of the book Narodila jsem se pod šťastnou hvězdou (A False Dawn) by the eminent Romani author Elena (Ilona) Lacková.  full story

Czech Culture Minister: Buyout of pig farm was important, human dignity cannot be measured in money

19.1.2018 7:31 News server Novinky.cz published an interview on 17 January with Czech Culture Minister Ilja Šmíd in which he said he agrees with the amount of money paid to buy out the pig farm in Lety u Písku that stands on the site of a former concentration camp for Romani people because this was an important step and human dignity cannot be measured in monetary terms. "The last Government made that decision and I am convinced it was absolutely correct as far as the amount paid to buy the farm," the minister said.

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Yvetta Blanarovičová: Talent alone is not enough

30.12.2017 11:25 "Very often children join this project who have chaos inside them, they don't know how to learn, they have no aims - they just have talent. Then it's up to us to give them direction and raise up what is unique in them," says Yvetta Blanarovičová about her aid to gifted children whose families are unable to support them.  full story

Internationally renowned Romani artist Damian Le Bas has passed away

13.12.2017 8:57 Damian Le Bas, a leading artist from the Romani community, passed away on Saturday, 9 December 2017 at the age of 54 at home in the small British town of Worthing in West Sussex. The Kai Dikhas Gallery in Berlin, Germany announced the sad news.  full story

"A Vanished World" exhibit on Wenceslas Square in the Czech capital for the next two weeks

1.11.2017 14:27 The travelling exhibition "A Vanished World" (Zaniklý svět), prepared by the Committee for the Redress of the Roma Holocaust (VPORH) about indigenous Czech Roma and Sinti, has returned to Prague. Through rare archival materials and photographs from the interwar period, the exhibit presents the lives of Roma and Sinti in the Czech lands prior to their imprisonment in Nazi concentration camps.  full story

Exhibition "A Vanished World" about indigenous Czech Roma and Sinti again on display in Prague

17.9.2017 16:20 The traveling exhibition "A Vanished World" ("Zaniklý svět") about the indigenous Czech Roma and Sinti that has been created by the Committee for the Redress of the Roma Holocaust (Výbor pro odškodnění romského holocaustu - VPORH) is returning to Prague. Through rare archival materials and photographs, the exhibition presents the lives of Roma and Sinti in the Czech lands prior to their imprisonment in the Nazi concentration camps.  full story

Exhibit touring Prague shows how Roma lived before being imprisoned in concentration camps

1.8.2017 10:54 Various locations around Prague will once again see the travelling exhibition "A Vanished World" („Zaniklý svět“) this month, about and by indigenous Czech Roma and Sinti people and created by the Committee for the Redress of the Roma Holocaust (Výbor pro odškodnění romského holocaustu - VPORH). Through rare early-20th century photographs and archival materials the exhibition presents the life of the Roma and Sinti in the Czech lands up to and including their imprisonment in the Nazi concentration camps.  full story

Czech PM praises Culture Minister but urges progress on buy-out of pig farm on Roma genocide site

29.7.2017 15:55 Deník Referendum reports that Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka (Czech Social Democratic Party - ČSSD) has met with Czech Culture Minister Daniel Herman (Christian Democrats - KDU-ČSL) as part of his regular performance reviews of all cabinet members. Sobotka said he is satisfied with how Herman is drawing from EU funds for his ministry and that the average wages paid to persons working in culture have risen.  full story

Slovakia: Meet Erik D., Romani street artist

26.7.2017 8:22 He is one of the most famous street artists in Slovakia and the only Romani man there to make a living as a professional in this style. Erik Demeter's fate is definitely graffiti.  full story

Romano Voďi magazine reviews new Czech film with Romani leading man, "Skokan"

26.7.2017 7:08 "How am I supposed to start over? I don't have a chance. I'll start selling meth again, getting high, by winter I'll be back in prison," says Julius Oračko, the actor who has created what may be the first Romani leading man in the Czech feature-length film from director Petr Václav and producer Jan Macola, "Skokan" ("The Jumper").  full story

Colombia: Romani Residents Embrace Their New and Traditional Identities

20.7.2017 23:55 The Romani people in Colombia are proud of their government for fostering a culture of acceptance within the community. In 2005 the number of Romani residents in Colombia was estimated at 5000 people, but has now grown to more than 8000 people within the last decade. Many of the Romani people in Colombia do not fear persecution, and enjoy several social benefits.  full story

Romani fashion designer wins one million Czech crowns, will launch brand

3.7.2017 7:39 Romani fashion designer Pavel Berky has won the competition on the Czech designer reality show "The Way". The main prize of the contest, which ran over the course of the last few months each Saturday on the cable television channel TV Óčko, is one million crowns [EUR 38 000] and the opportunity to develop a fashion brand.

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Belgian edition of TV competition "The Voice" won by 13-year-old Romani girl from Slovakia

30.6.2017 7:50 The most recent season of the Belgian branch of the music show "The Voice Kids 2017" has been won by 13-year-old Katarina Pohlodková, whose parents are originally from Slovakia. She fought her way through to the final round with the song "She Believes in Me", originally performed by the Belgian singer André Hazes, which was a mega-hit as "Empire State of Mind" by Alicia Keys.  full story

videoTimea Junghaus for Romea.cz: Romani artists have the potential to create an innovative Romani identity

28.6.2017 10:30 At the beginning of June the grand opening of the European Roma Institute for Arts and Culture (ERIAC) was held in Berlin. News server Romea.cz broadcast the press conference live and filmed this brief interview with its Executive Director, the historian Timea Junghaus, who has aided with the creation of the institute, among other matters.  full story

Romani musician Ida Kelarová to present young Romani musicians she has coached in concert Friday with the Czech Philharmonic

27.6.2017 7:21 This Friday, 30 June, at 19:00 the Great Hall at the Museum in Chrudim, Czech Republic, will resound with a grand concert performance by the Czech Philharmonic and 120
Romani children under the direction of the Romani musician Ida Kelarová. On Saturday, 1 July, the children will perform in the Social Hall of the M-KLUB in the town of Vysoké Mýto.  full story

Vicente Rodriguez Speaks About His Vision for the Romani People

26.6.2017 23:40 On 8 June, during the launch of the European Roma Institute for Arts and Culture (ERIAC) in Berlin, the Huffington Post met with activist Vicente Rodríguez, the Romani organizer of the RomaPop alliance. Rodríguez discussed his mission to have Romani people portrayed in a positive light in popular culture.  full story

Czech Republic: Romani people discuss whether the approach of Afrofuturism could empower them

23.6.2017 7:22 On Friday, 16 June, the Romafuturismo Library hosted a discussion at the Tranzitdisplay Gallery about Afrofuturism and how it could relate to Romani people. The discussion began with a Skype conversation with writer and director Ytasha L. Womack, who talked about her film, "A Love Letter to the Ancestors from Chicago", and her book, "Afrofuturism: The World of Black Sci-Fi and Fantasy Culture".  full story