Processing Romany Culture through Art
Grönfors, Janette (2012)
Humanistinen ammattikorkeakoulu
2012
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2012092013777
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2012092013777
Tiivistelmä
This study focuses on the experiences of Roma artists on how being Roma displays itself in their art, what their cultural identity is, and how the Roma population sees them and their art. The focus group consists of six Roma people who make, or have made their living in the arts. They are three men and three women between the ages of 37 and 69.
The research material consists of discussion I had with these individuals that loosely followed the structure of a theme interview I created, as well as some magazine articles. I have also used some results from a survey conducted by The Finnish League for Human Rights (later FLHR) titled ‘Roma participation and inclusion on culture services in Finland’.
The purpose of the study is to find out how artists experience their own ethnicity and identity. Do they feel they are more artists than Roma, or are these even opposing themes? The theoretical framework of this study is loosely based on Benedict Anderson's theories on the formation of communities, as in Finland as well most Roma are deeply bonded to their communities. Artists on their part have formed a smaller community, also being a minority in the Roma community, if not such a uniform one.
Among other things, the study reveals that being Roma/Gypsy shows in the art of all the respondents unintentionally and automatically. This result in turn would strengthen the common perception about the emotional strength and sensitivity of the Roma. There are not many studies on that topic either, and the best known of them may be Laura Ruohonen and Veijo Rantala's interview study from 1991 titled “Aito mustalainen on lämmin ihminen” (“A True Gypsy is a Warm Person”), where the topic comes up somewhat in the interviews of 15 people.
This study also looks at how the Roma population and the main population in Finland relate to the artists and who are their supporters. The idea of community was also granted greater dimension by the interviewees.
The second theme of my Master's programme in addition to youth work is social equality, and the Roma population is considered the most neglected ethnic and social minority in Europe – this is why I have chosen the Roma as my subject. Unlike hundreds of other studies conducted on the topic of the Roma, this thesis is not about their problems or solutions to those problems.
The research material consists of discussion I had with these individuals that loosely followed the structure of a theme interview I created, as well as some magazine articles. I have also used some results from a survey conducted by The Finnish League for Human Rights (later FLHR) titled ‘Roma participation and inclusion on culture services in Finland’.
The purpose of the study is to find out how artists experience their own ethnicity and identity. Do they feel they are more artists than Roma, or are these even opposing themes? The theoretical framework of this study is loosely based on Benedict Anderson's theories on the formation of communities, as in Finland as well most Roma are deeply bonded to their communities. Artists on their part have formed a smaller community, also being a minority in the Roma community, if not such a uniform one.
Among other things, the study reveals that being Roma/Gypsy shows in the art of all the respondents unintentionally and automatically. This result in turn would strengthen the common perception about the emotional strength and sensitivity of the Roma. There are not many studies on that topic either, and the best known of them may be Laura Ruohonen and Veijo Rantala's interview study from 1991 titled “Aito mustalainen on lämmin ihminen” (“A True Gypsy is a Warm Person”), where the topic comes up somewhat in the interviews of 15 people.
This study also looks at how the Roma population and the main population in Finland relate to the artists and who are their supporters. The idea of community was also granted greater dimension by the interviewees.
The second theme of my Master's programme in addition to youth work is social equality, and the Roma population is considered the most neglected ethnic and social minority in Europe – this is why I have chosen the Roma as my subject. Unlike hundreds of other studies conducted on the topic of the Roma, this thesis is not about their problems or solutions to those problems.