The festival, entitled Now We'll Show It To You, is a celebration of contemporary Roma art at which the art is the centre of attention, not social problems or ethnic tensions, says the director of the Hungarian cultural institute in the Austrian capital Zoltán Fónagy.
Just two conditions had to be met for inclusion on the programme: that the artist be Roma and a professional, says Fónagy. The same criteria applied to the films on the progarmme: they aren't just about Roma, they were made by Roma.
The Collegium Hungaricum will show an exhibition of paintings, photographs and sculptures entitled Beyond the Exotic featuring the work of Márta Bada, Tibor Balogh, Áron Gauder, Judit M. Horváth, Henrik Kállai, András Kállai, István Gábor Molnár, Gyula Nyári, Jolán Oláh, Mara Oláh, Teréz Orsós and Zsolt Vári. The exhibition's curator is Péter Szuhay of Budapest's ethnography museum.
Music will also be a big part of the programme. Four concerts by Roma acts will take place at Vienna's Sargfabrik. On the lineup are Parno Graszt, Bea Palya, Nomada and Etnorom. At the Pilwax Jazz Club, Kálmán Oláh will play with his sextet. Fláre Beáas will perform at the Collegium Hungaricum's own dance club.
The cultural centre will host a conference entitled Hot Themes in Roma Research on October 10.
Source: Hungarian News Agency (MTI)
