CAFÉS & CITIZENRY – THE ROMA ORIGINS

 

THE AIM AND THE STRUCTURE OF THE PROJECT

 

The planned duration of the project would be 15 months, from June 1st, 2011 till August 31st, 2012. Our program would consist of four stages – each focused around music workshops –, where a mixture of ’roma’ and ’non-roma’ artists would also participate together.

 

This is project is where we could accomplish the above mentioned workshops, with the lead of such teachers who truly represent their own country, the specific music style which belongs to, originated from them, from their culture. Besides the musicians of the holding country, similar number of artists, partners would be present from other countries as well, which would represent the diversity of the participants of the workshop.

 

At every location the music will be joined by one or multiple representatives of joint-arts in a symbiotic way rather than separatelly. Every stage of the tour would be closed by a concert which would conclude the project by choosing the best performance.

 

1st Event

Kisharsány, South Hungary - at the Ördögkatlan Festival

2-6. August 2011

  

2nd Event

Lanciano, Italy

25-28. February 2012

 

3rd Event

Komárom, Hungary

27-30. April 2012

 

4th Event

 

Suceava, Romania

16-19. July 2012

 

 

 

 

At the first location, Hungary – in August 2011 – we would like to focus on literature beside music, which is one of the most important ingredients of cafe culture. It is our plan to invite roma and non-roma writers, poets, who would capture and extend what happened here. We would also like to inspire and urge them to create new works. Their importance will be apparent at the closing event.

 

The second event would take place in Italy, February 2012. We plan to focus on visual-art and scientific approach with our local partners. We would like to adapt art-deco, the style of the 20s and 30s, to contemporary and Cafe atmosphere. Here we would also like organize a professional conference to promote confrontation concerning best practices and strategies to favor the roma integration through art interaction/intervention.

 

We would like to set our third workshop in Hungary, April of 2012. On the Mediawave Festival we would ensure the joint of the dance and a social aspect, in consideration of the special accompanied program, planned for the youth like as a performance made by disadvantaged children from the Roma community.

 

We would like to hold our fourth, closing event in Romania. This would be the synthesis of our work, that we would have done so far, strictly speaking, this would be the aim of the project. During the closing concert – which would take place in a desolated building or area – a café would be built according to our plans. We would like to use the experiences, we’ve gained at our italian partner: we should create a conventional inner space with the help of the elements of design and fine art.
Meanwhile, the multilingual literary acts, created at the first event, could be built into the rhytm of the concert. The dance performance, choreographed at our romanian associate, should complete the experience with the compound of traditional and contemporary components.

With the reinterpretation of the roma roots and experimentalism, we will generate a coinage which is attend the civil tradition and modern, at the same time. It overpasses the ethnical and cultural differences by transforming them into a space, which evokes the sparkling past of our continent, common values and opens perspectives as a result of the common efforts in parallel.
 

 

 

THE DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PROJECT

 

 

THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

 

Europe entered into the 21st century under the load of hopes and problems. While the process of the cultural-economic unification is on its way, there are still eurosceptic voices in political and national levels intensifying from time to time. We have to face up to challenges like nationalism stregthening again, xenophobia which is gaining strength as the immigration is increasing and racism expressing itself opposite the minority ethnic groups.

The valued number of the Romanies is 7-8, 5 million, their majority live in Central and Eastern Europe, their proportion in the population shows a growing tendency in the rest parts of the continent as the consequence of the increasing number of child birth and migration within Europe. This process leads to constant frictions because of the differences of the tradition and way of thinking between the majority and the minority societies. However it cannot be claimed, that the Romanies – this expression used to uniform ethnic groups describing several different Gypsy ethnic groups– would be foreign bodies in the fabric of the old continent. As all the nations, nationalities and minorities living here, the Romanies also have enriched our common value heritage owning historical and cultural sources.

Until today there are still innumerable debates about whether it is needed and if yes, in a how large measure, in what kind of sectors, to integrate the Romanies into the so-called dominant society. With the appearance of the idea of the multiculturalism an answer has already been born for the issue, that’s what we would like to follow: stereotypes and prejudices ease in the equal, penetrable and interlocking arts, because they serve the transition between the old and the new one considering its essence.

Our organization – MEDIAWAVE International Visual Art Foundation’s activities are mainly characterized by an intercultural dialogue, let the interdisciplinarity not be only an obscure concept for the citizens, but tangible and important idea, which requires nursing, feeding and decompression. On the basis of our experiences, we think that we can enforce those principles in this project, that are essential in terms of the social and cultural covenant. Not only to mediate, but we would like to create it: from the traditions to modern, contemporary ones, which thouhg have roots stretching back in the past.

We are committed devotees of the civil idea – we believe we have to protect and to propagate the fundamental human rights and rights to freedom with responsibly and by our own strength, truly to the pillars of the European culture complex: the Europeanism which was birth from the Christian - Jew, the Graeco-Roman and the French Enlightenment, and which is constantly built by the streaming systems of ideas, which we have to admit in such a way that we should not lose our heritage, The spectrum of these effects spreads from the Islam through the Eastern currents to Roma culture and still further. Having a special geographical - sociographical situation, and having had experiences in Roma music, we would like to deal with a special branch of the Roma music, the coffee-house music in order to make enough for the both need of the compulsion and creation arriving from within.

According to the above reasons this project must not be restricted to the music merely, neither onto the rest of the accompanying art, our planned program series has social implicatures with which we wish to further the integration (in its right meaning), in accordance with the European Commission's intentions. We would like to meet the requirements of such principles as explicit but not exclusive targeting, inter-cultural approach, involvement of civil society, active participation of the Roma people and use of Community instruments.

THE ROMA COFFEE-HOUSE MUSIC

The Roma coffee-house music primarily Hungarian folkloristic written music with an entertaining purpose. The public consciousness identified Roma music as authentic folk music for a long time – incorrectly. The musicology cleared up the misunderstanding, but then becoming an uninteresting entertaining genre, it got out of the focus of the music research. The scientific procession of the genre until today is on a low level (comparing to either classical music, or authentic folk music). The vocational part of our project wishes to make changes in this neglected state. In Hungary and at our partners, in Italy and in Romania the Roma music currently mostly appears just as a tourist spectacle. This role is required to be overwritten according to the meaning, and our workshop series would perform the task of this.

Several spectacular experiments were born for arousing the coffee-house culture in Hungary in the latter years, and numerous bands like Váradi Roma Café, Budapest Bár came into existence, which are successful according to the feedback of both the professionals and the audience. We wish to lean on these results, but with the omission of the business considerations. Their relevance can be measured up for us in that the environment is suitable for a similar, but from an artistic viewpoint much wider initiation.

We would like to present, that keeping authencity, how the Roma musicians get into the project with the help of the participating organisations, can show the joining points of the Roma art to the European waves, concerned during the project – with the withdrawal of the accompanying arts – how new roads can be being looked for, not only in the actual works, but on a theoretical-ideological level, too. The participating cultural anthropologists, culture researchers will be the ones who will follow this process, who will giveideas, suggestions by exchanging experiences, thus accomplishing the scientific view asserting.

We believe that – taking our results achieved till now into consideration – in the realisation – on a technical level, the workshop the most suitable one onto the achievement of the desired aims. Its uniqueness can be found in its stimulation to cooperation, being supplemented the cultural distances and common values dual concept represented by art. The participants have an opportunity to find that area of the given artistic branch where they may make their creativity unfold in the most full measure in the course of the cooperation. We wish to involve leaders into the work in small groups, who have already obtained experiences in such a cooperation and who represent the highest level on their own area.

 

PARTENERS AND IMPLEMENTATION

 

In the process of partner selection we’ve prefered those candidates who are in accordance with such conditions as professional preparadness, reliability and the possibility of quality cooperation. It is inevitable to complete each other’s ideas, and to make a dialouge in the order to reach our purpose in the course of the common work.

 

Not only does our Romanian partner, the „CLOPOT” Humanitarian Foundation” cultural and social activity, but they also took part in projects in connection with regional developement, so they are competent in the long-term maintaining and popularization of the project. Suceava, as a decisive settlement of the romanian-ukrainian border-land, could be an important take-off for further programmes across the border. Romas have a central role in traditions of Bucovina since this area is densley populated by them. Consequently we could involve them into the project more efficently as participant and as target audience.

 

Our italian partner, the Associazione NAZIONALE – Them Romano Onlus is a non-profit cultural lab which works for the diffusion and knowledge of arts in their different expression. Its members and representatives include young artists, philosophers, students, photographers, researchers and people who enjoy art. It works across all disciplines with the main purpose to let people experience and appreciate art and culture in their different expression. Our partner plays a huge part, especially in the professional and scientifical joint program of our project.

 

THE TARGET GROUP OF THE PROJECT

 

Directly involved target group:

Preparing the syllabus of the project, discriminated or marginalised roma and not roma artis groups from the participating countries have been selected as the priority target group.
Opinion and needs of the target groups’ representatives have been defined and used successfully during the project’s planning. According our aims our target group, being complex in many ways, such as regarding the nationality and the ethnic groups, and yet contrasts strikingly in social and cultural aspects, is featured by age differentation as well.

Indirectly involved target group:

The spot of the project has been selected by considering the places where the problems come into existance and arise since we would like to take advantage of the mixed society so that the project’s audience could make their circumstances better as an active partner, raising their function in the society and learning from one another.
The comprehensive target group requires programs organized according to their special needs, taking aim at gaining information to a small extent but at improving skills in preference. We would like to take notably into account university and college students within our target group at young age, not only the ones who specialize in art branches but all the students attending the institutions of the actual region. Efficient communication between cultures participating in the project provides challenge and new point of view for the musicians and artists and searcher as well.

 

EXPECTED RESULTS

 

Directly results of the project:
- enhancement of the cooperation with the partners
- the complex developement of the personality, and the talent of the participant with appropriate work-programme
- provide fascilities to advance for disadvantaged roma young people

With conformation to the local circumstances and cultural behaviour and habits, the project could improve the efficency of the institunionalized and self-developeded public civilization significally. We get across the equlity of people and their role by connecting them to the multi-faceted utlization of the knowedgement manifested in the program. The most relevent benefit of our program is the citizen’s participation, who has our self-decision, liable, and accept the other cultures. Least, but not last the organisations, those play part in this project, could deepen their social subserviency and enhance their role in the community. As a multiplicator effect the cooperation would come into existence, could create new initiations, with the involvement of another countries and organisations.
As a result of the innovative service development our organization can take part in creating the intercultural conversation the informal learning processes based on competence, accepting the dialogue in the different societies, cultures which are improving the cultural activities within the societies and among countries and the efficiency of general education.
The varied program supply improves the art-educating function of the participant organizations making the self-supporting and organized information-spread attractive. By this way the program supply gives the opportunity to satisfy the individual interests, deepen the information and increase the knowledge.

 

PROGRAMME PLAN DIVIDED TO SCENES

 

1st WORKSHOP – 4-7. August, 2011.
KISHARSÁNY, SOUTH HUNGARY

 

As the first scene of our programme sereal we have chosen one of the tiny villages of the historical wine producing area –Villány. Our plan consideres, protects and builds in its ideas the areas great natural advanteges and environment, and possible attempts to involve local habitants to cooperate actively in the programme as much as possible. 30-40% of the local population consists of „beash” gipsies. Despite the fact that they are not victims of segregation in the mentioned area, still have to face everyday problems.

 

Outdoor rehearsals are available to watch all day long to everyone, since being a festival at the same time in the village, the constantly moving crowd may become interested in sitting around, staying for a couple of hours and listen to music while having a picknick, etc. These public rehearsals may attrack therefore provide a great number of curious guests - public by the end of the workshop, in this case the closing concert may result in a full house. This idea is based on last years experiences, located in the very same village, the third projeckt of our “Together through thick and thin” Roma and Hungarian Art Workshops - programme (by MEDIAWAVE 2010.) has been realized with great success.

 

2. August, 2011.
First, „warm up” day – usually spent on participants and partners arriving, getting registered, getting used to the conditions, building contacts, and a team. From the afternoon we’d launche professinal discussions and art presentations.  At the evening the group will visit the famous wine-cellars of the region.

 

3. August, 2011.
Starting actual work: discussing the flow and the schedule of the project, and the method with participating artists. We form the cooperating teams, and the rehearsals begin at the afternoon. Common dinner featuring the Italian group’s specialities. The first project to present would be the results (photos, films) of „Together in Black and White Roma and Hungarian Art Workshops” 2010. T

 

4. August, 2011.
The evening programme consists a reading, edited from the most outstanding writings of contemporary roma literature. This evening may serve as a self introducing show of György Ferenczi and the Rackajam – his art is a peculiar meeting of Hungarian poetry, gipsy music and blues.

5. August, 2011.

A schedule similar to the second day’s for the musicians, while we provide constant interactive opportunities for „rehearsing” – discussions on given topics, impro session) Todays dinner may represent the unique dishes of our Romanian partner.

 

6. August, 2011.
The closing day of our programmes first project. During the afternoon we evaluate our experiances involving the professional leaders and partners. Assuming consequences of the rehearsing processes, monitoring the success level of cooperation, and summerizing the results, how shuold we go on, and make it always better. The next programme will be the traditional Kisharsány – Worshop football match wich’s most important aim is to deepen our really unique relationship with local people, and nevertheless to freshen up before the evening concert is on. The last day’s dinner could be concentrate to the gastronomical culture of the local roma community.  This would be the day of the official project opening presss conference, at wich we’d have the opportunity to introduce our participants, and our professional leaders’ and partners’ plans and ideas about the programme.The closing concert would take place in the evening complemented by a literary reading with organic harmony, built by dramaturgically. Screen photo documentation of the workshop dubbed for the music, and after then, a closing party.

 

2nd WORKSHOP – 25-28. February, 2012.
Lanciano, ITALY

 

Our partner, the Them Romano ONLUS should manage a project event, from 25th to 28th February 2012 where the music workshop will be completed by graphics and contemporary art additions.
During the Italian venue there will be music performing, and performances where music and visual arts will “play” together: the music will be the interpreter of the artworks' meaning.
The artists involved during the 4 days of the Italian project event will be roma musicians from the involved partners and from Italy too.

During the Italian event, there will be realized a conference addressed to specialized public, in order to promote a confrontation concerning best practices and strategy to favorite the roma integration trough art interaction/intervention.

 

25. February, 2012.
Warm up day, the main task to do is making contacts and deepening already existing relationships. From late afternoon on we’d launche professional discussons and arrange art presentations. The first to present would be the fine art installations created in cooperation of our partner organization. This is the day of the opening press conference of the Italian scene, with special intention to summerize the experiences of the previous workshops and the future opportunities of developement.

 

26. February 2012.
The starting point of the concrete work: discuss the procession and the methods of the workshop with the participant artists. Forming the cooperative groups, and the rehearsals begins, for the musicians and fine art representatives, as well, to inspire them with the common practices. In the evening we would like to screen a footage about the movie documentation from the previous workshop, and we would set a colloquy there.

 

27. February, 2012.
A schedule similar to the second day’s for the musicians and the fine- and graphic art participants. First day of a scientific conference, seminars and round-table meetings reflect to the connection of roma integration and artistic expression. As the closure of the day, there will be jam session with the contribution of local, italian musicians.

 

28. February, 2012.
The end of the project’s second venue. During the afternoon we evaluate our experiances involving the professional leaders and partners. Assuming consequences of the rehearsing processes, monitoring the success level of cooperation, and summerizing the results, how should we continue, and improve it further. The closing concert would be hold in the evening, where an opening ceremony of a graphic and design art exhibition would take place also, not seperated, but in unity with the picture burst upon the audience’s view.

 

3rd CLOSING WORKSHOP – 27-30. April, 2012.

KOMÁROM, HUNGARY

 

27. April, 2012.
Maping out the scenario of the last day’s event with the involvement of all participant, set the special tasks, and the ingress of the space, where the further programs would take place. Especially important, that the concept would be transparent to everyone, and they recognize the significance of the interdependence, that exist between each other in this project. Every art section of the project would be present the production, that come off in the previous occasions.

 

28. April, 2012. 
The stakeholders – divided by art form – would participate seperate rehearsals and discussions in the spirit of the tasks, set the day before. It doesn’t mean the exclusion of the interaction, we would like to ensure, that the actors could get an introspection to each different processes, and to accomodate themselves to the enviroment and to each other’s company. We would like to have a jam session in the evening, for refreshment.

 

29. April, 2012.
The day of the phasing of the detached elements of the project, in regard to the scenario and the possible changes in it, and the finalize of the closing act.

 

30. April, 2012.

The summing day of the project’s subject-matter, summing and synthetising the achievements, reached to this point. The musicians – with the joint-artist – hold the last rehearsals, under the control of the professional leaders. The complex and precise implementation of the evening performance, the realization of the project’s main objective: a construction of a café, those instruments, we’ve experimented during the project with. Moulding the music, literature, fine art and dance to an exact form. We would like to hold a press conference, when we would emphasize the expected results of the project, considering the ideoligical – cultural – social implications in particular.

 

 

4th WORKSHOP – 22-25. March, 2012.

SUCEAVA, ROMANIA

 

The „CLOPOT” Humanitarian Foundation, our partner from Romania, has the same idea like us: important to cultivate the common heritage, customs and traditions and encouraged cooperation by joint teams of advertising and encouraging the circulation of cultural products. Their recent initiation, the “Visual Arts Club” has an essential role by providing the exhibition hall for cultural operators in Europe to disseminate art.

It is a multifunctional space that promotes visual arts in an interactive system to ensure good participation and a larger site visibility provided by inside an unconventional space, and it will be our venue during the implementation of the event.

 

22. March, 2012.
Warm up day, the main task to do is making contacts and deepening already existing relationships. From early evening on we’d launche professional discussons and arrange art presentations related to a dance and project installation, the partner made of so far. This is the day of the opening press conference of the Romanian scene, with special intention to summerize the experiences of the previous workshops and the future opportunities of developement.

 

23. March, 2012.
The starting point of the concrete work: discuss the procession and the methods of the workshop with the participant artists. Forming the cooperative groups, and the rehearsals pf the music workshop begins, so as a performance made by disadvantaged children from the Roma category (orphanages, children with family problems) where we could make a spectacle of dance and music. In the evening we would like to screen a footage about the movie documentation from the previous workshop, and we would set a colloquy there.

 

24. March, 2012.
A schedule similar to the second day’s for the musicians and the performing art participants. First day of a professional conference, a continuation of the Italian event, carrying-on the negotiation about the problems, questions, that have evoked in Carpi. As the closure of the day, there could be music program with the contribution of local, romanian artists.

 

 

25. March, 2012.
The end of the project’s third venue. Like the other venues, during the afternoon we evaluate our experiances involving the professional leaders and partners. Assuming consequences of the rehearsing processes, monitoring the success level of cooperation, and summerizing the results, how should we go on, and make it always better. Before the closing concert there would be hold the performance of a disadvantaged children, then as a complementation of the summarizing event, a dance show should reflect the composition of the music workshop.

 

 

THE COMMUNICATION AND THE PROMOTION OF THE PROJECT:

 

We always emphasize during the promotion by visual and audio means that the project can be realized with the support of the European Union and the EU Cultural Program and it tries to transmit and create all the same values in its spirit which are important both for the Union and organizers as well. We are willing to apply the traditional and modern means and underline the combination of these two. In our opinion the utilization and possibilities of social websites are indispensible not only in promotion, but in the confirmation of new relationships and also in the constant connection with the audience. Because of environmental and economic aspects we are willing to exploit the facilities that the Internet, web 2.0 and the mobile communication can provide.

 

The means of traditional media also will have big importance. We would like to provide place for the reports and interviews about the workshops in the traditional, electronic and digital press of our partners particularly calling the attention of the journalists to the remarkable social relations of the project. We want to promote the project in temathic magazines and periodics and television programmes throughout the country. We also plan to organise informative events at each location long before the workshops and, as it is indicated in the timing, on the first day of each programme station we invite the representatives of the media.

In our plans there are representative booklets and brochures too, introducing the involved musicians, artists and organisations in every document not forgetting to mention the results and achivements here as well.

 

Hopefully in the future the professional conferences, seminars and lectures will have multiplier effect and the project itself and its further documentation will become source of excellent future publications and of high standard studies and publications.

 

We think that the photo- and video documentation of every stage of the events during the four

workshops is highly relevant as the base of the projects’ realization and in view of its future life. The essential parts of the documentation have to be on a high/television standard to be acceptable for the national televisions and cultural channels regarding the technical quality. The semi-professional photo- and video-works produced by the participants can be used on the website – considering their mental/aesthetic quality as the aspect of selection.

 

Besides that every partner promotes the project on their own websites, also a common surface is coming soon to give concentarted information about the program. This can be in continous movement or action thanks for the processing of the contents below among each workshops and its communication on the internet. Right here will be available all the information, news, videos and reports not only in English but in the participants’ languages too. On this site will be started a blog as well where every participant can share opinions and impressions in an informal way.

The list of materials collected from systematic and direct documentation:

 

For the televisions:
News and temathic materials will be shot in 2-10 minutes; a summarizing report in 26 and 52 minutes; music documentaries about the final concerts in 26 mins and in 52 mins with or without interviews; and a summarizing film with interviews in 52 mins after the last workshop.

 

For the netpages and social websites:
The amateur or semi-professional works on athmosphere and the opinions in any duration but selected by the quality; the internet-version of materials and photos made for the televisions. Categorized by the name of each station or location of the events.

 

We are willing to make a promo-DVD in 200 copies 3 times. Its content will be composed by the mentioned television-standard materials and works. Some copies will be provided for each participant (for partners, professional leaders, participants) in this way they can distribute it within their own milieu. In additional we can provide DVDs for televisions and artistic and cultural organizations to decide if they use and promote it or not.

At the end of the project we plan to make a summarizing representative DVD in 500 copies with many extra contents besides the video-documentations (like interactive portraits, photo selections etc.)