Within the framework of the Joint Programme Roma Memory, the European Roma Institute for Arts and Culture implemented a series of cultural, educational, and research based activities addressing Roma resistance, remembrance, and institutional antigypsyism. These activities were developed and delivered in close cooperation with key European and international stakeholders, including the Council of Europe, the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), ODIHR, and the Central Council of German Sinti and Roma.
Together, the programme elements combined artistic expression, scholarly reflection, and capacity building, reinforcing Roma agency in memory work and contributing to sustainable European remembrance practices.
The two day programme Roma Art of Resistance marked International Roma Resistance Day through music, visual art, performance, and critical dialogue. It foregrounded Roma resistance as both a historical reality and a contemporary practice.
To mark the International Day of Roma Resistance, the internationally acclaimed guitarist Ferenc Snétberger performed at Kesselhaus Berlin together with outstanding young talents from his musical centre, Máté Balogh on saxophone and Flóra Bakonszegi on vocals.
On May 16, the European Roma Institute for Arts and Culture hosted an evening programme dedicated to examining state surveillance, institutional antigypsyism, and Roma resistance through art, research, and public dialogue.
EXHIBITION OPENING
Roma Resistance: From Silenced Histories to Agents of Memory
This exhibition draws upon the deep knowledge embedded within ERIAC and builds on the seminal research commissioned by the Tom Lantos Institute, in cooperation with Heidelberg University and the Documentation Center for Sinti and Roma, conducted between 2015 and 2017 under the leadership of Timea Junghaus. This research marked a paradigmatic shift in how we understand the history of the Roma Holocaust.
PERFORMANCE
Approaching Ultra Light by Romy Rüegger
The performance stages propositions for a rereading of archival materials, sites and memory loops. It is based on a slow, caring research, that navigates questions of remembrance and opacity and the being made of our presence.
The performance navigates archival researches into mug shot photographs and wanted lists, documenting the biopolitical efforts that were applied by the newly founded nation state, in order to settle down non-sedentary living groups in Switzerland, southern Germany and Alsace. A systematic persecution that initiated a range of identity categories and a set of wording, that shows direct continuations in the vocabulary and identity categories used in present-day administration of migration.
PANEL DISCUSSION
Resistance and Remembrance: Confronting Institutional Antigypsyism Through Art and Research
The panel discussion brought together artists and academics, who reflected on personal and collective forms of resistance in response to the political and institutional mechanisms of antigypsyism.
The panel featured Dr. Markus End (Center for Research on Antisemitism, Technische Universität Berlin), a leading researcher and expert on institutional antigypsyism; Dr. Anna Mirga-Kruszelnicka (Deputy Director, ERIAC), editor of Re-thinking Roma Resistance Throughout History; and Romy Rüegger, artist, researcher, and ERIAC–Villa Romana artist-in-residence. Together, they explored how historical and contemporary practices intersect across art, scholarship, and lived experience.
The discussion was moderated by Dr. Maria Bogdan, a media and cultural theorist, specializing in media representation, cultural memory, and the Roma Holocaust.
In addition to public cultural programming, ERIAC contributed to the Joint Programme Roma Memory through educational and intellectual outputs that strengthen Roma Holocaust education and remembrance policy.
ERIAC released a masterclass by writer and political organizer Pierre Chopinaud, reflecting on the historical and political significance of May 16, 1944, and its relevance for contemporary Roma resistance and mobilization.
This two-day training programme aimed to advance Roma Holocaust remembrance and education, with a particular focus on teaching Roma history within formal education systems. It built on Recommendation CM/Rec(2020)2 of the Committee of Ministers on the inclusion of the history of Roma and Travellers in school curricula and teaching materials.
The programme targeted staff of public authorities from European Union Member States, with particular emphasis on curriculum developers, Ministries of Education, National Roma Contact Points, and other stakeholders shaping educational content.
Twenty-five participants from 12 Member States attended the in person training, which included a guided visit to the Auschwitz Birkenau State Museum, participation in the European Roma Holocaust Memorial Day commemoration, and an intergenerational encounter between Roma youth and Holocaust survivors. An additional 47 participants joined the online session.
Led by Roma and non Roma scholars and international experts, the programme combined theoretical reflection with practical tools and existing educational resources for classroom use.
Further information and the agenda are available here:
Photo documentation of the training by Tamás Márkos in the frame of the JP Roma Memory, August 1-2, 2025All activities were organized by the European Roma Institute for Arts and Culture and implemented within the Joint Programme Roma Memory. The programme was co-funded by the European Union and co-funded and implemented by the Council of Europe, in close cooperation with European and international stakeholders committed to Roma remembrance, human rights, and historical justice.
