Creative inclusions

24^th of May

Organised by friends of le Monde Diplomatique, At The Gallery, in Farringdon, London

I went to a film event ‘Mundi Romani: the World of the Roma’

As a people and as a culture, the Roma have been and continue to be misrepresented, mythologized, stereotyped, and scapegoated. There are at least 12 million Roma scattered throughout the world, yet despite being Europe’s largest minority, the Roma have been voiceless for centuries. This evening’s two films, Lashi Vita (the good life) and Paradise Lost: the Roma Pavilion at the 52nd Venice Biennale, explain the nature of contemporary anti-Gypsy attitudes, and illustrate the resilience of the Roma people in the face of persecution. Film maker and director Katalin Barsony the co-producer of this documentary series by Duna Television Hungary and the Romedia Foundation , and the International Editor of Mundi Romani , Marion Kurucz will join us for the Q&A, together with Dr Nidhi Trehan whose new book Romani Politics in Contemporary Europe (edited with Nando Sigona) was published by Palgrave Macmillan last year.

19^th of May

ArtSway Associates meeting with DACS

The majority of the meeting was centred around a discussion on the potential of a partnership between ArtSway, the ArtSway Associates and DACS, and the potential for a digital platform for the distribution of artworks by artists directly to the public.

17^th of May

Creative Conditions: Mapping Artist Resources in the South East. Towner Gallery, Eastbourne.

I was invited as AIR representative to take part in a conference at the Towner Art Gallery in Eastbourne. ‘Creative Conditions’ was initiated by Turning Point South East (TPSE), a consortium of organizations and individuals in South East England which is developing and implementing, in partnership with Arts Council England, a regional plan for the visual arts. The event aims was to foster an informal space for consultation and discussion, exploring the current landscape of artists’ support and resources in the region. It was to encourage a wide range of perspectives and contributions from visual artists, arts organisations and support agencies to fully explore where we are now and how we influence future initiatives.

There were 3 panels of invited speakers:

Panel 1:

Chaired by: Stephen Foster, John Hansard Gallery

Gilane Tawadros, DACS

Jonathan Parsons, ARC and Medway In Sights programme

Elpida Hadzi-Vasileva, AiR representative

Panel 2:

Chaired by: Matthew Rowe

Mark Segal, ArtSway Associates

Emilia Telese, working with Fabrica / ArtSway and NAN

Kevin Wilson, Artpoint

Panel 3:

Chaired by: Tim Eastop CCI

Donna Lynas, Wysing Arts and Escalator programme

Julie Freeman, Method Artist , CLP programme

Stephen Beddoe, ArtQuest

These was a very productive day with an interesting mix of 50 invited professionals, including artist, curators, directors of publicly funded organisation, Arts Officers from Council Authorities from the South East region.

14 May

On the same day I met another artist, recommended by Prof. Thomas Acton, Eva Sajovic originally from Slovenia but living and working in the UK for many years now. Eva is a photographer and curator and has worked on many projects with Roma communities. At present she has various exhibitions as part of the Gypsy Roma Traveller History Month. She has also curated an exhibition, that opened yesterday at The Arts Pavilion in Mile End, as part of The Holocaust Against The Roma and Sinti and Present Day Racism in Europe.

http://www.grthm.co.uk/index.php

14 May

I have been searching and looking to create contacts with different Roma communities on the South East Coast. Through recommendation by Daniel Baker I contacted Camilla Palestra at the London College of Fashion and Prof. Thomas A. Acton at the University of Greenwich.

Camilla worked on a very interesting project called ‘Mapping the Invisible EU Roma Gypsies’. http://blackdogonline.com/all-books/mapping-the-invisible.html

Myself and Camilla had a very productive meeting at her office in London where she explain the history of the Mapping the Invisible project, that she worked on together with Lucy Orta, how the project was established and all the different groups involved in the project. She gave me a copy of the book, which is amazing.

I then explained what I am planning to do through my R&D project, the research work that myself and Dr Fiona Dean started in Macedonia last year (http://www.rhiz.eu/artefact-36839-en.html) and how I am now looking for Roma communities to work with in this Country.

She recommended contacts that I am following up at the moment.