Deutsch | ROMANES

Performing RomArchive
24.–27.1.2019

From January 2019, RomArchive, the digital archive of the Roma, will make Romani arts and cultures visible and demonstrate their contribution to European cultural history—accessible online in three languages (English, German, Romanes). At last, a counter-narrative told by Roma themselves offers a reliable source of knowledge that confronts stereotypes and prejudices with facts.

On the occasion of the launch of the archive website, the international festival Performing RomArchive in Berlin shows the richness and versatility of this cultural and artistic production.

Unless otherwise stated, the programme takes place at the Akademie der Künste with free admission. Admission to the exhibitions is likewise free during the festival.
All events will be held in English and German language respectively translation.

Akademie der Künste
Pariser Platz 4, 10117 Berlin

Download the complete festival programme as PDF file

Image above: Botoló / Stick Dance (1955)
Photo © Zsuzsanna Bene/Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Rights: Zsuzsanna Bene (artwork)/Hungarian Academy of Sciences (scan), rights of use (scan)

Exhibitions and Installations

Opening: 24.1.2019, 20:00 h

25.–27.1.2019, 11:00–22:00 h
Free admission during the festival.

29.1.–3.2.2019, 11:00–19:00 h
Admission: 6 / 4 €

Here To Stay. Stopping Places / Akathe te Beshen. Atchin Tan
Exhibition
Daniel Baker, Gérard Jean Gartner, Manolo Gómez, Gabi Jiménez, Damian Le Bas, Delaine Le Bas, Nihad Nino Pušija, Ceija Stojka, Imrich Tomáš, Alfred Ullrich, Kálmán Várady, George Vasilescu, David Weiss

In cooperation with the Berlin gallery Kai Dikhas an impressive presentation has been created, covering the entire spectrum of contemporary Romani artists: from painting, graphics, and sculpture to video art, and installations. The exhibition’s title refers not only to the European Roma, who are stereotypically portrayed as eternal wanderers, while in reality belonging to their home countries for centuries, but also to the striving contemporary Roma art scene as such.

Curated by Moritz Pankok & Delaine Le Bas

RomaRising
Exhibition

As a successful example of emancipatory photography, André Jenö Raatzsch presents in his archive section, Politics of Photography, the portraits of photographer Chad Evans Wyatt. For his series RomaRising, Wyatt portrayed minority representatives in impressive black-and-white photographs.

27.1.2019, 19:30–21:00 h
Accompanying event with lectures, reading, and music

Tales of the Endless Road
Video installation

Finnish filmmaker Katariina Lillqvist brings traditional Romani folktales to life in animated films with handmade puppets. The Film archive section presents her six-part puppet film Tales of the Endless Road (2001–03) in a video installation beside selected original puppets.

Voices of the Victims
Audio installation

For her archive section »Voices of the Victims« within the framework of RomArchive the historian Dr Karola Fings collected early testimonies of Sinti and Roma who were victims of Nazi persecution in twenty countries. Secret messages, appeals for clemency, witness reports. To this day, only a very few such testimonies are known and thus all the more significant as they represent a counter-narrative to the image constructed by the perpetrators.

Events

24.1.2019, 21:00–22:30 h
KAL
Concert

The internationally successful band KAL from Belgrade, founded by Dragan Ristić, combines traditional Balkan music with influences of tango, oriental and Turkish music as well as Jamaican sounds.

25.1.2019, 15:00–16:00 h
The international Romani Civil Rights Movement
Talk
Dr Thomas Acton, Dr Nicoleta Bitu, Dr Angéla Kóczé, Andrzej Mirga, Dr Anna Mirga-Kruszelnicka, Soraya Post, Romani Rose

The academics and curators of the Romani Civil Rights Movement archive section are experts in their field. As part of the festival, they talk to icons of the civil rights movement who tell personal stories and talk about their commitment to the minority, their mediation work, and their visions for the future.

25.1.2019, 16:30–18:00 h
Jovan Nikolić & Anita Awosusi
Reading

The Serbian author Jovan Nikolić (Das Orchester der Frauen, die mich verlassen haben, 2016; Weißer Rabe, schwarzes Lamm, 2011) reads selected texts, the German author Anita Awosusi reads from her autobiographical book Vater unser (2016). Dr Beate Eder-Jordan, curator of the Literature archive section, introduces the archive section and moderates the evening, the Bulgarian cultural scientist Dr Sofiya Zahova speaks on the topic Neither young nor undeveloped. Roma Literature in the Balkans.

25.1.2019, 18:30–19:30 h
Is there such a thing as Romani Music?
Lecture Performance
Dr Petra Gelbart, Gonzalo Montaño Peña, Dragan Ristić, Dr Carol Silverman

Romani music is closely interwoven with the musical history of Europe. It has shaped many musical genres and in turn taken up many influences. Is there such a thing as Romani music at all, and if so, what might be its components? Dr Petra Gelbart, curator of the Music archive section, talks about and with music. A journey through very different European musical styles, from jazz manouche to Russian »romances«, Balkan music, hip-hop, Hungarian csárdás, and occidental art music.

25.1.2019, 20:30–22:00 h
Dorantes: Interacción
Concert

With a family tree steeped in cante jondo, this young Seville native has started a musical revolution in flamenco, raising the piano to prominence in a world where guitar is king. Thanks to his extraordinary improvisational sense and brilliant orchestrations, he has managed to reinvent the genre by incorporating the dreamy sensibilities of jazz. Dorantes joins forces with the modern flamenco dancer Ursula Lopez and the drummer Javi Ruibal for Interacción, a multi-faceted repertoire.

Admission: 13 / 7 €

26.1.2019, 14:00–19:30 h
Romani Arts Matter
Symposium

14:00–15:30 h, Session 1
Roma(ni) Performing
Slaviša Marković, Dragan Ristić, Sandra Selimović, Miguel Angel Vargas

In conversation with theatre-makers, the curator of the Theatre & Drama archive section, Dragan Ristić, explores the question of what distinguishes »Roma theatre«. Is there an artistic signature? What structural problems do Romani theatre groups face in different European countries?

16:00–17:30 h, Session 2
What is Romani Art?
Dr Daniel Baker, Delaine Le Bas, Dr Suzana Milevska, Moritz Pankok

Artists and curators discuss contemporary »Roma art«. What are the trends? Are there unifying elements? Can a potentially essentialist label such as »Romani artists« be effective at all?

17:30 h, Performance/intervention
Meditation on the History of the Swiss Roma
Text and performance: Mo Diener / Roma Jam Session art Kollektiv

18:00–19:30 h, Session 3
The Movement of Romani Dance
Isaac Blake, Rosamaria Kostic Cisneros, Dr Adrian R. Marsh, Ivana Nikolic, Attila Szanto

Isaac Blake, curator of the Dance archive section, together with his curatorial team presents the approach for their archive section. Romanian dancer and founder of the dance ensemble Romafest, Attila Szanto, and Serbian dancer and activist Ivana Nikolic will provide a performative frame for the talk.

27.1.2019, 15:00–16:00 h
Commemoration ceremony
Different location: Memorial to the Sinti and Roma of Europe Murdered under the National Socialist Regime, Simsonweg/Scheidemannstraße, 10557 Berlin

After a welcoming address by Uwe Neumärker, Executive Director of the Foundation Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, Zoni Weisz will speak on the occasion of the International Holocaust Memorial Day at the Memorial to the Sinti and Roma of Europe Murdered under the National Socialist Regime. Fatima Hartmann, Slaviša Marković, Nedjo Osman, and Perjan Wirges will then read early testimonies of Sinti and Roma who were victims of Nazi persecution. The testimonies were collected by Dr Karola Fings as part of the project »Voices of the Victims« and are made accessible in the archive section on the Holocaust in the RomArchive.

27.1.2019, 16:30–18:00 h
Programme dedicated to the International Holocaust Memorial Day
Lecture, reading, film screening

Historian Dr Karola Fings gives a brief introduction to her research project »Voices of the Victims«.

Reading with Edward Dębicki
Edward Dębicki, Polish Rom born in 1935, survived the persecution by the National Socialists. He reads from his book Totenvogel (2018), in which he describes his childhood and youth as well as the suffering under the German occupation.
Moderated by Lothar Quinkenstein
In cooperation with the Friedenauer Presse

Film screening and talk
The short film Pamyataty / Remember (2016) by Ukrainian director Petro Rusanienko deals with the fate of a Romani woman in Ukraine who was persecuted by the Nazis during the Second World War and a courageous farmer’s wife who tries to protect her. The screening will be followed by a conversation between the film director and Katalin Bársony, director of the Romedia Foundation and curator of the Film archive section.

27.1.2019, 19:30–21:00 h
RomaRising
Presentation, reading, music

The RomaRising presentation showcases the Politics of Photography archive section with introductions by curator André Jenö Raatzsch and photographer Chad Evans Wyatt. Tony Gittens, Director of Filmfest DC, will give the keynote speech on the legacy of the U.S. Civil Rights Movement. Romanian Roma actor, Mihaela Drǎgan, will give voice to participants in the project through narratives collected by Mary Evelyn Porter. The band, Sinti Swing Berlin will provide musical accompaniment.

A selection of the portraits by Chad Evans Wyatt can be seen at the festival.

Education programme

26.1.2019, 12:00–14:00 h
27.1.2019, 14:00–15:00 h
Meet the Curators

On Saturday and Sunday there will be guided tours through the exhibitions and installations as well as conversations with the curators. Following all panel discussions, discussions, readings, and performances, the participating artists and speakers will be available to answer questions. Thus they support the mediation of a centuries-old and up to the present very lively and versatile cultural production, which is closely interwoven with the European one.

1.2.2019, 10:00–15:00 h
»Voices of the Victims« – Training for multipliers and teachers

In twenty countries, Dr Karola Fings has collected early testimonies of Sinti and Roma who were victims of Nazi persecution. In cooperation with the Documentation and Cultural Centre of German Sinti and Roma and the Regional Centre for Civic Education Berlin, a didactic handbook is being developed for this purpose. The training following the festival is aimed at multipliers in the educational work.

Further information and registration: www.berlin.de/politische-bildung
Berliner Landeszentrale für politische Bildung Hardenbergstraße 22–24, 10623 Berlin

Further events in Berlin

7.12.2018–9.2.2019
YRA. Young Romani Artists
Exhibition
Emanuel Barica, Tibor Červenák, Małgorzata Mirga-Tas, Marina Rosselle, Mersud Selman, George Mihai Vasilescu, David Weiss

Kai Dikhas gallery presents seven young artists from all over Europe who will create an artistic manifesto as part of the exhibition.

Opening hours: Wednesday–Saturday 14:00–18:00 h
Publication of the manifesto: 26.1.2019, 20:00 h

Galerie Kai Dikhas
Aufbau Haus am Moritzplatz, Prinzenstraße 84.2, 10969 Berlin

26.1.–17.2.2019
Miklós Déri: Nyolc | Eight – A District in Budapest
Exhibition

The photographic portraits of Miklós Déri (* 1964 in Hungary) are dedicated to the everyday life of Roma in the 8th district in Budapest.
A Project by the Goethe-Institut Budapest

Opening hours: Tuesday–Saturday 14:00–18:00 h
Opening: 26.1.2019, 19:30 h

CLB Berlin
Aufbau Haus am Moritzplatz, Prinzenstraße 84.2, 10969 Berlin

26.1.2019, 20:30–22:00 h
Medea Rromnja
Theatre performance

With this theatre production, Roma artists appropriate the myth of Medea and create a powerful self-image.
By and with: Mihaela Drăgan, Sakip Jusic, Estera Iordan, Anna Koch, Delaine Le Bas, Slaviša Marković, Moritz Pankok, Ramona Rahimic, Matthias Schellenberger, Benjamin Schultz, Theresa Selter, Dafni Sofianopoulou, Estera Sara Stan, Flo Thamer, Tina Turnheim, Tamara Weber, Luca-Zoé

Admission: 15 / 10 €

TAK Theater Aufbau Kreuzberg
Aufbau Haus am Moritzplatz, Prinzenstraße 85 F, 10969 Berlin

28.1.–13.3.2019
HETEROTOPIE X3 – Installations of memory
Exhibition
Emanuel Barica, Pamela Cuadros, Álvaro Garreaud, Teo Lagos, Slaviša Marković

Installations on the persecution and resistance of Roma yesterday and today.
Curated by Álvaro Garreaud
A project by Amaro Foro e. V. in cooperation with the Documentation and Cultural Centre of German Sinti and Roma, and Kai Dikhas gallery

Opening: 27.1.2019, 18:00 h

Dokumentations- und Kulturzentrum Deutscher Sinti und Roma
Aufbau Haus am Moritzplatz, Prinzenstraße 84.2, 10969 Berlin

Outlook

28.2.2019: Voices of Roma
Jewish Theatre Bucharest
Dr Viorel Achim, Dr Nicoleta Bitu, Ioanida Costache, Mihaela Drăgan, Dr Karola Fings, Dr Petra Gelbart, Isabel Raabe, Franziska Sauerbrey

Lectures, readings, music, and performance of the play Kali Traš – Black Fear (Text: Mihai Lukacs, Dramaturgy: Mihaela Drăgan)

7.3.2019: Living Archive: Performing Memory of Roma Politics
Central European University & Gallery8, Budapest
Dr Angéla Kóczé, Isabel Raabe, Franziska Sauerbrey, Dr Anna Szász, et al.

Discussion, photo exhibition and two exhibitions of the artist Henrik Kállai

Venues

Main venue

Akademie der Künste
Pariser Platz 4, 10117 Berlin

Further Venues

Berliner Landeszentrale für politische Bildung
Hardenbergstraße 22–24, 10623 Berlin

CLB Berlin
Aufbau Haus am Moritzplatz, Prinzenstraße 84.2, 10969 Berlin

Denkmal für die im Nationalsozialismus ermordeten Sinti und Roma Europas
Simsonweg/Scheidemannstraße, 10557 Berlin
Between Brandenburg Gate and Reichstag building

Dokumentations- und Kulturzentrum Deutscher Sinti und Roma
Aufbau Haus am Moritzplatz, Prinzenstraße 84.2, 10969 Berlin

Galerie Kai Dikhas
Aufbau Haus am Moritzplatz, Prinzenstraße 84.2, 10969 Berlin

TAK Theater Aufbau Kreuzberg
Aufbau Haus am Moritzplatz, Prinzenstraße 85 F, 10969 Berlin

Imprint

Programme

The festival programme was curated by

Dr Thomas Acton, Katalin Bársony, Isaac Blake, Dr Beate Eder-Jordan, Dr Karola Fings, Dr Petra Gelbart, Dr. Angéla Kóczé, Rosamaria Kostic Cisneros, Delaine Le Bas, Dr Anna Mirga-Kruszelnicka, Gonzalo Montaño Peña, Moritz Pankok, Isabel Raabe, André Jenö Raatzsch, Dragan Ristić, Franziska Sauerbrey, Dr Jan Selling

Production

RomArchive, Project initiators and directors
Isabel Raabe, Franziska Sauerbrey

Festival organisation
Dino Spiri

Festival management Akademie der Künste
Meike Avner, Reinhard Pusch, Marco Starke

Contact

RomArchive
Digital Archive of the Roma
sauerbrey | raabe gUG (haftungsbeschränkt)
Erkelenzdamm 59–61, 10999 Berlin
+49 30 61285538
mail@romarchive.eu

Press and Communication
Denhart v. Harling, press@romarchive.eu

Partners

RomArchive is funded by the German Federal Cultural Foundation.