When Gabi Jimenez, a French Spanish Romani painter, first heard several years ago that a major museum in France was planning an exhibition on Romani culture and history, he said he thought it would be “a mess.”The story of the Roma, Jimenez said, has long been told by outsiders who depict them at best as itinerant slackers and at worst as unhygienic thieves.
Past shows about Romani people have typically featured pictures of bedraggled children and women breastfeeding near caravans.
“I told myself: ‘We’re going to get all the stereotypes again,’” he said.
Except this time, Romani people were shaping the narrative.
The exhibition — which runs through Sept. 4 at the Museum of Civilizations of Europe and the Mediterranean, in Marseille, France, and features some 200 artworks and objects — is billed as the first of its kind, bringing together contributions from multiple Romani artists and curators who share their culture on their own terms.
Persons:
Gabi Jimenez, Jimenez, “, ‘, ’ ”
Organizations:
Roma, of Civilizations of
Locations:
Spanish, France, of Civilizations of Europe, Marseille