Łukasz Gągulski/PAP
Acclaimed Polish-Romani artist Małgorzata Mirga-Tas has been announced as a finalist for prestigious international award, the Tajsa Roma Cultural Heritage Prize.
The sought-after biennial prize, now in its third edition, is awarded by the European Roma Institute for Arts and Culture (ERIAC) based in Berlin, to exceptional individuals who are leading voices in the contemporary Roma cultural movement.
One of her defining artistic achievements to date was representing Poland at last year’s 59th Venice Biennale (2022) where she became the first Romani artist to represent not only Poland, but any country, at the Venice Biennale.
A graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków and a recognised international artist with regular exhibition across the world, Mirga-Tas was born in Zakopane at the foot of the Tatra mountains, as a member of Poland’s Bergitka (mountain) Roma community, one of the first Roma groups to settle in Poland and who have lived in the region for centuries.
A sculptor, painter and educator, as a recipient of a number of awards, one of her defining artistic achievements to date was representing Poland at last year’s 59th Venice Biennale (2022) where she became the first Romani artist to represent not only Poland, but any country, at the Venice Biennale.
In the inauguration ceremony for the Polish Pavilion at the time, Mirga-Tas said: “I am deeply honoured to represent Poland, but I do not only represent Polish art.
The sought-after biennial prize, now in its third edition, is awarded by the European Roma Institute for Arts and Culture (ERIAC) based in Berlin, to exceptional individuals who are leading voices in the contemporary Roma cultural movement.
“I am here as a representative of the Roma community and Roma art as well. This show tells many stories. One is about how we as the Roma are perceived, how we have been depicted and how we depict ourselves.
“Another strand concerns the great Roma women I admire. Finally, this is a story about my family and the life of my community in Czarna Góra.
“In this sense, it is a story about myself. This is the first time in the history of the Biennale that a Roma artist is able to tell her own story with her own voice – or, in fact, with her own hands.”
In her nomination for the Tajsa Roma Cultural Heritage Prize, Mirga-Tas was recognised for her vibrant and self-assured Roma iconography, challenging stereotypes and engaging in a critical dialogue with historical depictions of the Roma community, amongst them patchworks made of curtains, jewellery, shirts, and sheets which are sewn together to form so-called ‘microcarriers’ of history, for which she often uses fabrics collected from family and friends.
In her nomination for the Tajsa Roma Cultural Heritage Prize, Mirga-Tas was recognised for her vibrant and self-assured Roma iconography, challenging stereotypes and engaging in a critical dialogue with historical depictions of the Roma community, amongst them patchworks made of curtains, jewellery, shirts, and sheets which are sewn together to form so-called ‘microcarriers’ of history, for which she often uses fabrics collected from family and friends.
Mirga-Tas will be competing for the award against four other nominees, Franciska Farkas and Kristóf Horváth, award-winning actors from Budapest, Gabi Jimenez, a visual artist based in France, Lindy Larsson, an actor and singer from Sweden and Emília Rigová, a visual artist from Slovakia.
Timea Junghaus, Executive Director of ERIAC, said: “The Tajsa Prize embodies the founding principles of ERIAC and the spirit of Roma history and cultural heritage while looking onwards, shaping and re-inventing forms of Roma cultural expressions for the next generations.
The winner of the award will be announced on the 30th of November at a ceremony at the Gorki Theatre in Berlin.
“The prize aims to honour outstanding individuals who are leading voices of the Roma cultural movement today.
“It seeks to encourage Roma pride and promote the creativity, virtuosity, and talent of Roma cultural producers.”
The winner of the award will be announced on the 30th of November at a ceremony at the Gorki Theatre in Berlin.