ROMACEN - The Age of The Witch marks the birth of a new artistic trend, Roma Futurism, which we hope will be taken over by many Roma artists in order to move to the next level, where we imagine a future in which we can stop the historical cycle of oppression against us. Roma Futurism claims the figure of the Roma witch, so stereotyped in the collective imaginary, and witchcraft becomes our artistic and political response to the social inequalities and injustices of the world we live in. (Mihaela Drăgan, 2019)
ROMACEN
I - We are the witches. We have techno-magical powers. We reflect the present. We process the past. We develop the future. We are more and more powerful.
II - We know the past creates the present, and the hate against us and our people is from the past, from long ago. Confronting historical oppression we come with a proposal. Question your anthropocentrism. Meet the New Man, the hyperempathic man, the man with a feminist anti-racist conscience - a metaphor that radically reformulates the monstrous uber-mensch of the past century.
III - We are part of the Phenjalipen society and together we hold the secrets of the new technologies. We deconstruct and hackthe operating systems of patriarchy and Eurocentric racism. We reinvent the traumatic events of our Roma people's past in order to restore our dignity and alleviate our transgenerational traumas - we do ourselves justice.
IV- We believe that salvation comes from merging with technology. We are re-appropriating technology. We know how to use the algorithmic Tarot. Techno-clairvoyance. Cyber-curse. The Roma-car interface is no longer just a utopia for us. We are techno-witches and we are post-human.
V- We have an emancipatory vision. Faced with the apocalyptic present, we come up with an answer commensurate with our anger and liberating power: Romacen. We claim through techno-witchcraft a space where we can live our lives as we wish. If the neo-fascist present does not accommodate us, we find our own way. Welcome avatars. Welcome avatars.
TEAM
Concept and writing: Mihaela Drăgan
With: Ioana Costea, Mihaela Drăgan, Nicoleta Ghiță, Fatma Mohamed, Zita Moldovan, Anca
Pitaru
Virtual scenography: Cip Făcăeru
Digital interaction designer: Florin Dumitru
Costumes and poster: Gabriella Spriridon
Sound design: Flo Thamer
Artistic direction: Tina Turnheim