「羅姆藝術家」指的是認同自己是羅姆人、辛提人、吉卜賽人或旅行者社群成員的創作者，他們運用視覺藝術、表演藝術或概念藝術來表達其獨特的文化遺產、生活經驗和認同。羅姆藝術並非由單一風格定義，而是一個多元、跨國且不斷發展的類別，它常常挑戰刻板印象，並探討韌性、迫害、記憶和社會排斥等主題。
羅姆藝術表達的關鍵意義和面面包括：
抵抗與能動性：羅姆藝術往往根植於對幾個世紀以來壓迫與扭曲的反抗，是自我定義與政治抵抗的工具。它旨在改變外界將他們視為「異域他者」的敘事方式，使他們被視為積極的創造者和主體。
重塑認同：當代羅姆藝術家常常直面、解構並挑戰刻板印象，他們改造傳統圖案，並探討諸如波拉伊莫斯（羅姆人大屠殺）等創傷。
多元媒材：羅姆藝術家的創作媒材十分廣泛，包括繪畫、攝影、影像裝置、行為藝術和傳統工藝。
流動性與現代性：現代羅姆藝術植根於悠久而豐富的文化歷史，但不限於傳統或「民間」藝術。它常以跨國視角探索當代議題，反映移民、離散和無國界生存的現實。
代表藝術家：傑出的羅姆藝術家包括：記錄自己大屠殺倖存經歷的塞婭·斯托伊卡（Ceija Stojka）；創作跨學科作品、探討女權主義和反種族主義主題的塞爾瑪·塞爾曼（Selma Selman）；以及運用紡織品重塑羅姆人敘事、將其融入歐洲藝術史的瑪爾戈扎塔·米爾加-塔薩塔斯）。
- Resistance and Agency: Roma art is often rooted in a struggle against centuries of oppression and misrepresentation, serving as a tool for self-definition and political resistance. It aims to shift the narrative from being viewed as "exotic others" by outsiders to being recognized as active creators and subjects.
- Reclaiming Identity: Contemporary Roma artists often confront, deconstruct, and challenge stereotypes,, transforming traditional motifs and addressing the trauma of, for example, the Porrajmos (the Roma Holocaust).
- Diverse Mediums: Roma artists work across a wide spectrum of media, including painting, photography, video installation, performance art, and traditional crafts.
- Fluidity and Modernity: While rooted in a long, rich cultural history, modern Roma art is not restricted to traditional or "folk" art. It often explores contemporary issues through a transnational lens, reflecting the realities of migration, diaspora, and borderless existence.
- Key Artists: Prominent Roma artists include figures like Ceija Stojka, who documented her survival of the Holocaust, Selma Selman, whose multidisciplinary work engages with feminist and anti-racist themes, and Małgorzata Mirga-Tas, who uses textiles to rewrite Roma narratives into European art history.
- The "Roma Artist" Category: Some artists have historically hesitated to accept the label "Roma Artist," fearing it essentializes their work or sidelines it into a separate, non-professional category. However, there is a growing, confident "Roma Contemporary Art" scene that uses this label as a powerful, unified identity in the international art world.
- Emergence of Visibility: The creation of the first Roma Pavilion at the Venice Biennale in 2007 marked a major turning point in recognizing Roma artists on a global scale.
塞婭·斯托伊卡（Ceija Stojka）的一幅畫作，拍攝日期不詳。
斯托伊卡是一位羅姆藝術家，也是大屠殺倖存者，她的作品往往直白坦率，描繪了她的族人所遭受的暴力。圖片來源：塞婭·斯托伊卡遺產管理處
布魯克斯表示，她希望這次在繪畫中心舉辦的展覽能展現斯托伊卡在當代藝術史上的地位，同時也為「美洲的羅姆文化創作」開闢新的機會。她指出，全球約有1200萬至1500萬羅姆人，其中100萬至200萬生活在美國；她自己的家族大約在19世紀60年代來到美國。 “我認為，對我們來說，一位羅姆藝術家和一位活動家的作品能夠在美國的博物館展出，也至關重要。”
布魯克斯最希望的是，此次展覽能夠清晰地表明，我們並非一群刻板印象的集合體，“我們是一個民族，”她說，“我們有自己的歷史，我們經歷過苦難。”
賽亞‧斯托伊卡：《讓世界可見》2月20日至6月7日，繪畫中心，地址：蘇豪區伍斯特街35號；電話：212-219-2166，網址：drawingcenter.org。
Brooks said she hopes that the Drawing Center exhibition will shed light on Stojka’s role in the history of contemporary art while also opening up opportunities for “Romani cultural production within the Americas.” She noted that of the 12 million to 15 million Roma in the world, one to two million live in the United States; her own family arrived around the 1860s. “It’s really important, I think, for us as well, to have a Roma artist and an activist being represented in a U.S. museum.”
Most of all, Brooks hopes that the show will make clear that, rather than a collection of stereotypes, “we are a people,” she said. “We have a history, we’ve had struggles.”
Ceija Stojka: Making Visible
Feb. 20 through June 7 at the Drawing Center, 35 Wooster Street, SoHo; 212-219-2166, drawingcenter.org.
