PRESS RELEASE
Press Conference: Thursday – June 7th, 3.15 p.m. – 3.45 p.m. Teatro Piccolo, Arsenale, Calle della Tana 2168/B
Inaguration:
Open to the Public: June 10th – November 21st, 2007, 10.00 a.m. – 6.00 p.m. (closed on Mondays)
Venue: Palazzo Pisani (S. Marina), Calle delle Erbe, Cannaregio 6103, Venezia Commissioner:
Organizers: Open Society Institute, Allianz Kulturstiftung, European Cultural Foundation Curator: Tímea Junghaus
Coordinator:
Scientific Committee: Viktor Misiano, Art historian, international curator and critic; Thomas Acton, Professor of Romani Studies, University of Greenwich; Barnabás Bencsik, Curator, Director of ACAX, Agency for Contemporary Art Exchange; Dragan Klaic, Theater scholar and cultural analyst; Marketta Seppala, Director of the Frame Foundation, Commissioner of the Nordic Pavilion; Katalin Székely, Art historian, art critic.
Artists: Daniel BAKER, Tibor BALOGH, Mihaela Ionela CIMPEANU, Gabi JIMENEZ, András KÁLLAI, Damian LE BAS, Delaine LE BAS, Kiba LUMBERG, OMARA [Mara OLÁH], Marian PETRE, Nihad Nino PUŠIJA, Jenő André RAATZSCH, Dusan RISTIC, István SZENTANDRÁSSY, Norbert SZIRMAI – János RÉVÉSZ
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. Further information:
