This project is financed with the support of EEA Grants 2014-2021 within the RO-CULTURE Programme
”Lockout Stereotypes” is a project initiated by the Art Media Events Studio Association – AMES with the aim to help and support the girls and women from the Roma communities in Ploiesti. It builds on the main objective of the association, which has been developing educational and artistic projects dedicated to teenagers since the beginning. At the core of the project is the motivation to fight against the double discrimination that Roma women systematically face (on ethnic and gender criteria). By centering on and promoting cultural activities around Roma culture outside stereotypes, we want to create a new perspective that encourages women to follow an artistic professional path.
Lockout Stereotypes seeks to expose the forms of oppression and discrimination against Roma women rooted in history and social patterns. Through cultural events (exhibition, guided tours, debates, workshops, theatre and music productions) the project will fight stereotypes related to cultural and artistic professions associated with women from Roma communities. Also, by promoting the exhibition and facilitating open talks with the audiences, ”Lockout Stereotypes” aims to broaden the dialogue between the general public and Roma communities, with the main purpose of educating and forming a safe cultural space for women.
Using curatorial practices, bilateral cooperation and support for innovative artistic production, the project will support and motivate Roma women to complete their studies and pursue a professional career. The young women who will participate in the project will learn to develop personal projects in the field of performing and visual arts and the results will be promoted among the general public in Romania and Norway.
We will raise public awareness of ethnic and gender stereotypes and discrimination by supporting diversity and the traditions of Roma culture. This will be achieved through: the design of artistic objects/products by artists approaching themes related to the project, printing of a trilingual illustration book (Roma – Romanian – English), public debates with guests specialised in Roma history and culture.
Lockout Stereotypes is a cooperation project between Romania and Norway, coordinated by the Art Media Events Studio Association (Ploiești), with the participation of the 4Culture Association (Bucharest) and the Fiksdal Dans Foundation (Oslo), which takes place in the cities of Ploiești and Bucharest from September 2022 to April 2024.
Discover the 3 main components of the project: LOCKOUT. Changing the categorizations | Professions and stereotypes. Education and culture for Roma girls and women | EMPOWERING Roma Women!
Exhibition | Guided tours | Public debates
Following an open call, 5 artists will be selected for a group exhibition that will take place in Ploiesti and Bucharest. The exhibition will include a series of guided tours dedicated to students, held by the artists and the curator of the show. During the exhibition there will be a public debate about the difficulties and the discrimination Roma women face when trying to complete their studies and follow a career path.
The first component of the project aims to raise awareness of stereotypical mentalities and social segregation resulting from prejudice against Roma women.
Workshop & performance | Theater & music workshops | One-woman show
Through the performance “HORDE” by choreographers Ingri Fiksdal and Solveig Styve Holte, 15 young Roma women will discover the world of theatre and performance. To this purpose, they will benefit from financial, educational and emotional support and the results will be presented to the public in Ploiesti.
The theatre workshops will be based on texts from Roma playwriting and will aim to support the cultural inclusion of different artistic forms free of stereotypes. The same role will be played by the music workshops. Their results will be presented and promoted to the public, as a way of motivating young Roma women to complete their studies and pursue a career in the cultural sphere.
In addition to the workshops and sessions, the project will support the production of a one-woman show.
This project component will culminate in a trilingual children’s picture book (Roma – Romanian – English) and a series of wooden design objects.
Working visits | Exchange of good practices | Vocational training | Toolkit
Lockout Stereotypes wants to offer the young women and girls from Roma communities in Ploiesti the confidence to pursue a career in the cultural environment.
We are aware that this social change needs time, help, support and above all constant monitoring of progress. Therefore, we plan to organise 2 bilateral visits during the implementation period, in order to build sustainable links with the Norwegian partner, which will facilitate the support of women in their artistic and professional path (even beyond this project).
Moreover, in order to ensure and facilitate the most effective and safe environments for participants, we will have permanent supervision meetings.
We see this as the first step towards “EMPOWERING Roma women!” and, because we want the evolution, the steps and the results of this project to be a meaningful example, we will also produce a toolkit to serve as a model for other projects supporting Roma women.
The project has received a grant amount (85% EEA Grants and 15% national budget) of 977,013 lei (197,699.87 euros).
This project is financed with the support of EEA Grants 2014-2021 within the RO-CULTURE Programme.
The EEA Grants represent the contribution of Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway towards a green, competitive and inclusive Europe. There are two overall objectives: reduction of economic and social disparities in Europe, and to strengthen bilateral relations between the donor countries and 15 EU countries in Central and Southern Europe and the Baltics. The three donor countries cooperate closely with the EU through the Agreement on the European Economic Area (EEA). The donors have provided €3.3 billion through consecutive grant schemes between 1994 and 2014. For the period 2014-2021, the EEA Grants amount to €1.55 billion. More details are available on: www.eeagrants.org and www.eeagrants.ro.
RO-CULTURE is implemented in Romania by the Ministry of Culture through the Project Management Unit. The Programme aims at strengthening social and economic development through cultural cooperation, cultural entrepreneurship and cultural heritage management. The total budget amounts to almost 34 million EUR. For more details access: www.ro-cultura.ro
This project is financed with the support of EEA Grants 2014-2021 within the RO-CULTURE Programme