Seminar on Romani Aesthesis
SEMINAR ON ROMANI AESTHESIS:
Emancipatory Potentials Beyond Modern-Colonial Art and Aesthetic
Iván Periáñez Bolaño in conversation with Miguel Ángel Vargas Rubio
September 3, 19:00
Tak Village im Aufbau Haus, Oranienhof, 10969 Berlin
Manolo Gómez, Clavel Negro, 2010, Collection Kai Dikhas
In his latest book titled ¨Cosmosonoridades¨, Iván Periáñez Bolaño, Professor of Anthropology at the University of Seville, invites us to rethink the notions of ¨gitano-song¨ (cante gitano) as a source of knowledge, practices, and experiences, which corresponds to a legacy and situated heritage that represents available and possible alternatives to Eurocentric universality and colonialist discourses.
On the occasion of his postdoctoral stay under the aegis of ERIAC´s Barvalipe Academy, Iván Periáñez Bolaño is going to discuss with art historian and theatre director Miguel Ángel Vargas, about the emancipatory possibilities of the concept of ´aesthesis romaní´.
Bolaño and Vargas are two Spanish Roma-Gitano creators and thinkers deeply influenced by the critical debates of flamenco and contemporary Romani creation. Concepts such as representation, recognition and objectification will be questioned in open dialogue with a clear direction: to speak from other categories and positions, having Bolaño’s book Cosmosonoridades: cante-gitano y canción-gyu. Epistemologías del sentir and his reflections on the current state of so-called contemporary Roma art, as a departure point for the conversation.
From the peripheral experience of the neighbourhoods and villages of Seville, they will trace the line of continuities that take us from the presence of Spanish Roma artists in Berlin in the 19th century to the (…) self-representation in full consciousness from our places of enunciation (…) in the 21st century. Together they examine the persistent inequalities that continue to exist and determine Roma lives.
The discussion is hosted by Foundation Kai Dikhas, in collaboration with the European Roma Institute for Arts and Culture (ERIAC). The conversation will take place in Spanish and English languages.
Iván Periáñez Bolaño holds a PhD with International Mention in Economics, Business and Social Sciences (Anthropology) from the University of Seville (2019). He is currently a lecturer at the University of Seville. He is also a lecturer in the International Doctoral Programme in History, Art and Languages at the Pablo de Olavide University (Seville). He is coordinator of Romani Critical Studies in the Master’s degree programme in Anthropology at the University of Seville. He has received the Extraordinary Doctorate Award (2021), the Andalusian Roma Award for Research Excellence (2023), and the Award for Merit in Social Science Research (2022), among others. He has been coordinator and chief researcher in the European project, “Bernó_Strategies” (2018-2020), for the defence and representation of the Roma People and Culture. He is researcher in the project, “Multiculturality through Art” (2014), and also in the project, “The semantics of tolerance and (anti-)racism: public bodies and civil society in comparative perspective (TOLERACE)” (2010-2013), of the 7th Framework Programme of the European Union for Research Excellence. He has been awarded several grants for international stays in the Netherlands, Portugal and Morocco. He has been a member of the Advisory Board of the XXII Bienal de Flamenco de Sevilla (2021, 2022). He is a member of the advisory committee of several academic conferences, as well as a reviewer of several national and international scientific journals. He has published articles, book chapters and books, the most recent entitled, Cosmosonoridades: cante-gitano y canción-gyu. Epistemologías del Sentir (2023, Ediciones Akal).
Miguel Ángel Vargas Rubio (1978, Spain) is an art historian and theatre director, flamenco researcher, living and working in Spain. He is member of Factoría Cultural – Polígono Sur, Institute for Culture and Arts of the Council of Seville and served as Jury of Roma Exhibition Venice Biennale (2019 and 2022). As an independent researcher and artist, Vargas combines Flamenco, theatre and Romani history as experienced-based themes of his artistic and academic enquiry. He has worked internationally as an actor, director, set designer, production manager and even opera technician, among other roles in the performing arts. He has collaborated with many academic institutions, including Central Saint Martin’s College of Arts of London, within their Performing Arts MA programme, the University of Seville, and Central European University in Budapest.