Roma Women Art Project

Being Hungarian & having spent a quite a lot of time on the continent of Europe, the "Gypsies" or Roma peoples are quite familiar to me. But-oh-so intriguing. I've watched them as many outsiders do of others - coming from church, walking with their families and begging on the street with babes & dogs in arms. Yet I'd never engaged them beyond a coin dropped here and there. Mainly because I was never fully fluent in their mother tongues but I had been warned not to go beyond the peripheral.

Not very much out there exists in the public realm about the history and present existence of Romanish peoples. Point being, these people are commonly stereotyped, fear & shunned. That's why SHUKAR seems cool - asking people to rethink the way they view gypsies. Bet you'll never use the term "gyped" again.

SHUKAR opening reception on February 11th from 6PM-8PM.

The Roma (Gypsies) are Hungary’s largest ethnic minority counting more than one million people. Until the second half of the 20th century, the representation of Gypsy art was the exclusive monopoly of non-Roma, defined usually as “folk art” or “naïve art.” SHUKAR! presents a contemporary Roma art that is hardly naïve. Rather, it is critical, political, and above all, painterly. The works in SHUKAR! reflect upon the social role of women and their double-minority position in the Hungarian Roma community. Theses paintings are at once provocative and beautiful, asking viewers to reconsider the role of Roma women and Roma contemporary art.

Artists include:

Jolán Oláh

Gyöngyi Ráczné Kalányos

OMARA

Teréz Orsós

This exhibition is made possible by the support of the Open Society Institute.

Admission:
Free admission
447 Broadway, 5th Floor
New York, NY
Tel: 212-750-4450

This exhibit runs from February 11th - April 8th.