Good Conversation Centre: Art as testimony – Ceija Stojka, the Roma history and the memory of the survivors | lecture and walk

The lecture will introduce the work of Ceija Stojka – a Roma artist and survivor of Auschwitz, Bergen-Belsen, Ravensbrück, whose works are a unique combination of personal testimony and universal warning.
Dr Joanna Talewicz (Foundation Towards Dialogue) will discuss both her paintings and literature, which provide moving testimony to the Roma Holocaust, and the historical context of the Holocaust itself. She will also discuss the processes involved in the decades-long marginalisation and ignoring of the voices of Roma men and women, and how today they are increasingly regaining their rightful place in the collective memory.
An important aspect of the lecture will also be a reflection on the role of Roma male and female artists and the activity of the Roma community in commemorating tragic events, in particular how the art of Stojka and other Roma male and female artists contributes to preserving the memory of survivors and building historical awareness.

The lecture will be followed by a guided tour of the exhibition at the Kuźnia Romów and there will be an opportunity to explore it on your own.

Schedule

• 12.00-13.00 – lecture by Joanna Talewicz (Foundation Towards Dialogue)
• 13.15-14.00 – Guided tour of the exhibition at the Kuźnia Romów
• 14.00-15.00 – possibility to explore the Kuźnia Romów on your own

Bio

Dr Joanna Talewicz – Co-founder and President of the Foundation Towards Dialogue and the Centrum Społeczności Romskiej in Warsaw. Graduate of the University of Cambridge, Judge Business School – Diversity, Equality and Inclusion. Scholarship holder of the Alliance for Historical Dialogue and Accountability programme – Columbia University, Leadership Academy for Poland, Fulbright Scholar, Tom Lantos Institute, European Commission Programme: Marie Curie – Conferences and Training Courses on Multidisciplinary and Cross-National Approaches to Roma Studies – Central European University and International Leadership Visitor Programme of the U.S. Department of State. Member of the Polish delegation to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance – IHRA. Her work focuses on Roma communities in Europe, with a special emphasis on the Roma and Sinti Holocaust. Author and co-author of books, academic and popular articles on Roma issues.

Co-organiser: Museum of Independence Traditions