ROMA PAVILION RETURNS TO TRIENNALE MILANO WITH “MOTHERLAND OTHERLAND”

Exploring Home, Belonging, and Resistance through Romani and Sinti Art

For only the second time in its history, the International Exhibition of Triennale Milano will once again host the Roma Pavilion, raising the Romani and Sinti flag among those of nation-states participating in this major cultural forum. Titled Motherland Otherland, the Roma and Sinti exhibition will be part of the 24th International Exhibition of Triennale Milano, which runs from 13 May to 9 November 2025 under the central theme of Inequalities.

Organized by Italy’s National Office Against Racial Discrimination (UNAR) and curated by Romani actress and activist Dijana Pavlovic alongside Swedish filmmaker and visual artist Hanna Heilborn, Motherland Otherland presents a timely artistic inquiry into the notion of “home” as both physical space and cultural construct. This bold, politically resonant exhibition brings together works by acclaimed Romani and Sinti artists: Małgorzata Mirga-Tas (Poland), Sead Kazanxhiu (Albania), Luna De Rosa, Noèll Maggini, Miguel Fiorello Lebbiati (Italy), and Béla Váradi (Hungary/UK).

The exhibition examines the home as a site of identity, intimacy, and self-determination—but also as a threshold between belonging and exclusion. Having a fixed address signals inclusion in legal and social systems, while the denial of stable housing contributes to a wider strategy of marginalization. Across Europe, forced evictions and housing insecurity continue to tear apart Romani communities, reinforcing systemic exclusion.

As Dijana Pavlovic articulates:

“The discrimination of Roma and Sinti is not an aberration—it is the mechanism through which societies construct their identity in opposition to the ‘other.’ The Roma become the necessary outsider, the symbolic boundary that defines who belongs.”

In a Europe increasingly shaped by crises and shifting political landscapes, Roma are no longer perceived through outdated myths of nomadism but as settled citizens continually denied their right to remain. The pavilion’s title, Motherland Otherland, captures this complex negotiation between rootedness and displacement, presence and erasure.

Co-curator Hanna Heilborn reflects:

“Motherland Otherland is a collection of individual artistic expressions that together form a collective gesture—a call for a future rooted in coexistence, equality, and inclusion: an ‘Otherland’.”

While the exhibition acknowledges the historic and ongoing exclusion of Roma and Sinti peoples, it also celebrates a legacy of artistic resistance, resilience, and renewal. Oral traditions, music, and visual and performance art have long served as forms of memory-making and identity-building within Romani cultures. The Roma have journeyed across continents, embraced multiple languages and religions, and persisted in preserving their identity without ever drawing borders or waging wars for territory.

“Motherland Otherland explores the notion of home from diverse perspectives, probing the relationship between space, identity, and self-determination. If there is one lesson Romani history teaches us, it is that identity is never a fixed destiny, but a continual movement between what was and what will be,” concludes Pavlovic.

As part of Triennale Milano’s wider program, which brings together global voices to examine inequalities of all kinds—economic, geographic, ethnic, and gendered—the Roma Pavilion offers a vital and urgent contribution. It is not just an exhibition; it is a cultural and political intervention that insists on recognition, dignity, and inclusion.

ERIAC strongly supports the Roma Pavilion at Triennale Milano as a groundbreaking example of how art can speak truth to power and reclaim space for marginalized narratives. We invite our network to visit Motherland Otherland and engage with the visionary work of its artists and curators.

Discover the 24th International Exhibition of Triennale Milano.