News

January 2012

Exhibition about Roma and Travellers

Romani Yag is beginning its 2012 activities by being involved in a very broad and thorough exhibit about Roma and Travellers, which begins on January 19th January and ends on 18th April 2012. This exhibit, entitled: “Tsiganes, Roms, Gitans, Gens du voyage…Entre mythes et réalités”, takes place at the Maison du Livre in Brussels (Saint-Gilles) and gathers photographs, paintings, writings, cartoons, books, record covers, informative texts, artefacts by various artists covering a broad range of themes and representations of Roma and Travellers throughout the world. There will also be a large number of panel discussions, documentary film screenings and a concert, giving the audience an opportunity to discover a great many aspects of Roma cultures and differentiate myths from reality.

Romani Yag is partnering up with the Maison du Livre in creating the decoration for the exhibit and in presenting photographs by Eric Roset, Marina Obradovic and Antoine Durand. Ljuba Radman (president of Romani Yag) is also organising and hosting a round table on the role of art and culture in bringing Roma and Gadje together, which will be coupled with a short performance by young Roma actors and a small concert by manouche musician and singer Tcha Limberger. For more info, see tab “What we do – 2012″.

A must-see if you are in Brussels! www.lamaisondulivre.be

July 2011

Screen and stage

Since early 2011, Romani Yag has been focussing its activities on documentaries/video reports and creations for the stage. Romani Yag participated in a video report on Roma in Brussels (on stereotypes vs. reality) as screenwriter, advisor and interviewer. This video produced by Cittalia, in collaboration with the ENTP, will appear soon on the website www.morespect.eu
Watch the video report:

Currently, our organisation is also creating a stage play of folk tales from the Balkans, including Romani tales, which will be presented to audiences throughout the province of Antwerp from September until December of this year. This show is produced by the organisers of the province’s Balkan Festival.
To find out more about this festival, see: www.balkanfestival.be

November 2010

Activities continue in Belgium and Serbia

After the recent success of the ambitious second Roma Touch (at Balkan Trafik festival) in April, with its exhibits, films and completely innovative recreations of Romani homes, Romani Yag continues its activities both in Belgium and internationally.

In the summer and early fall of 2010, Romani Yag joined in the efforts of the Belgian MRAX (Movement against Racism, Anti-Semitism and Xenophobia) and the ULB (Free University of Brussels) to prepare a week dedicated to Roma on the university grounds. As partner and consultant, Romani Yag offered the organising team special advice in terms of programming, coordination and PR for this event. A special presentation was also given by Romani Yag to the production team, providing a better understanding of Romani culture, history and current realities. The Roma Week’s dates are still to be determined. It will consist of lectures, round tables, exhibits, documentary films and stage performances, illustrating various aspects of Romani culture.

Romani Yag has also been working in close collaboration with Belgrade-based partners since the summer to create a retrospective compilation of one of Serbia’s most complete yet little-known Roma musical artists. He is a truly versatile accordionist and singer who has been present on the musical scene for decades. This compilation of his work will give the audience a chance to discover his broad range of styles and skills and to rediscover his greatest hits. Find out more about this “mystery artist” soon…

April 2010

Roma Touch

at Balkan Trafik festival

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This year, BOZAR, 1001 valises and Romani Yag work together once again to bring to you the ROMA TOUCH during the Balkan Trafik festival. Through this, we want to highlight the importance and diversity of the Roma people’s culture within the mosaic of the Balkans. Thanks to the renewed partnership with the Open Society Institute and Roma Decade, Balkan Trafik can once again stress the importance of International Roma Day.

WHAT IS THE ROMA TOUCH 2010?

A CARAVAN MUSEUM by Tania Magy, NGO Art’ Rom de Voyage PAINTINGS by Romani artist Gabi Jimenez PICTURES /portraits of Roma by Eric Roset Three interiors of ROMA HOMES with your hosts:

• A Wealthy Roma’s home with Dragan Ristic (founder/singer of KAL) and Ljuba Radman (president of the NGO Romani Yag)
• A Poor Roma’s home with Eric Roset (photographer)
• A Romani Stage Artists’ home with Gérard Gartner (Rom-Sinti author/artist) and Gabi Jimenez (Romani painter)

FILMS about Roma with the directors present:

• Korkoro – by Tony Gatlif
• Me, my gypsy family and Woody Allen – by Laura Halilovic
• Searching for the Fourth Nail – by George Eli
• The Last Hole on the Flute – by Vava Stojadinovic Links to the Roma Touch page:

February 2010

WELCOME TO ROMANI YAG’S NEW WEBSITE!

Over the years, Romani Yag has acquired experience and a solid reputation as the organiser of events dedicated to Romani culture in North America and in Europe. We have already brought our unique approach, our “special touch” to enthusiastic audiences in Canada, Belgium, France, Norway and Croatia… and there’s more to come!

Who are the Roma?

“Is the term Roma synonymous with “Gypsy, Tsigane, Manouche?”, “Do Roma all live in caravans”, “Is being musical in their genes?”, “Are Roma the same throughout the world?”, “How are they different?”, “Do Roma come from Romania?”, “Where does the discrimination against Roma come from?”… These are all questions that have been asked to us many times over the years.

Many of you want to find out more about this people, but don’t know where to start looking.

We’ve got good news for you: We have proven that knowledge about Romani culture and history go together beautifully with Romani dance, music and arts in general. Through our events, you will receive answers to these questions and understand this culture better while having fun!

We are certain that by getting to know the Roma people’s history, rich culture and heritage and by meeting many remarkable Roma at our events, you will see the immense beauty and diversity that the Romani cultures worldwide hold.

What is Romani Yag?

It’s a non-profit organisation dedicated to the promotion and dissemination of the cultural diversity of the Roma people (often called “Gypsies”) through public events, arts and media. Romani Yag began its actions in 2005 in North America and has continued its work in Europe as of 2008.

In order to find out about Romani Yag’s aims and actions, simply browse through our brand new website. You will find out all you need to know about who we are, what we do, what exclusive services we offer and whom we’ve been supported by since 2005. You might also want to check out some of the websites we recommend on our Some Links page.

In order to get in touch with us directly, nothing could be simpler: just visit our Contact us page.

Happy browsing and see you soon at one of our events!

Make sure you remain informed of our projects and upcoming events by subscribing to our newsletter: news@romaniyag.com