A video exhibition dedicated to Roma personalities such as Charlie Chaplin, Johnny Răducanu, or Ion Voicu opened at the Bucharest subway on Tuesday, April 12. For 30 days, short videos about 11 famous people will run on screens installed in subway stations “to promote Roma personalities and their modern creations, in order to change mentalities, reduce stereotypes in the Romanian society as a whole and develop intercultural dialogue,” according to a press release.

The 25-second videos are dedicated to Roma personalities from different fields of activity, such as painting, sculpture, music, or film. The list includes Alina Șerban, Zita Moldovan, Delia Grigore, Moca Rudy, Mihaela Drăgan, Vasile Burtea, Ion Voicu, Eugen Raportoru, Nicolae Gheorghe, Charlie Chaplin, and Johnny Răducanu.

A project of the National Center for Roma Culture - Romano Kher, in partnership with Art Safari and Metrorex, the exhibition is organized to mark the International Roma Day, celebrated worldwide on April 8.

“The Roma have a primary need for a responsible and ethnically assumed elite. The 11 personalities included in this project are just some of the ambassadors who inspire and carry on the cultural background of the Roma. We are happy to show them every day, for a month, to people travelling by subway. An invitation from art to tolerance, progress and free thinking,” said Mihai Neacșu, director of the National Center for Roma Culture - Romano Kher.

irina.marica@romania-insider.com

(Photos: the organizers)