‘Hidden Roma Masterpieces’ an exhibition of masterpieces of Roma contemporary art
Strasbourg. The exhibition “Hidden Roma Masterpieces”, curated by the European Roma Institute for Arts and Culture (ERIAC) and jointly organised by the Council of Europe and the European Parliament, took place in the Palais de l’Europe on 13 March 2018.
The exhibition presented a selection of masterpieces of Roma contemporary art from all over Europe. The paintings, sculptures, mixed media artworks, videos and textiles constituted treasures of Roma cultural heritage currently hidden or inaccessible. Many of the artworks were publicly shown for the very first time. Roma contemporary art is currently aquired, collected, archived, and studied by several major public institutions, state museums and archives but most of these artworks are still hidden to the public.
The event was opened by Mr Thorbjørn Jagland, Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Mr Zeljko Jovanović, Director of the Roma Initiatives Office of the Open Society Foundations (OSF) and Mr Péter Niedermueller, Member of the European Parliament. The exhibition was presented by Ms Timea Junghaus, Executive Director of the European Roma Institutue for Arts and Culture (ERIAC).
Guests very much appreciated the quality and amount of work undertaken by ERIAC since its official opening last year. After an international cultural outreach programme had introduced the Institute to diverse audiences in 7 Council of Europe member States in January and February this year, the Secretary General expressed his particular satisfaction that ERIAC came to Strasbourg in March. He stressed that Roma arts and culture were an integral part of the European cultural heritage and contributed to the artistic wealth and diversity of the continent, and thus merited protection and promotion.
More on ERIAC: http://eriac.org/