Press release: Khamoro 2021 - the festival culminates with an exhibition by Zoran Tairović!
The 23rd Khamoro World Roma Festival is currently culminating in an exhibition by the prominent Romani artist Zoran Tairović from Serbia, which can be seen until December 9 in the New Town Hall Gallery.
Once again this year, the largest cultural event focused on Romani art was influenced by the Covid 19 pandemic. The traditional organizers of the festival, Slovo 21, z.s. and Studio Production Saga, s.r.o., decided to carry out individual activities during the year due to the current situation.
The Khamoro program again included top gypsy jazz performers. The local band Django Always along with the Joscho Stephan Trio from Germany performed at the Jazz Dock between May and June. The audience response was exceptional and the packed club exceeded expectations. Two days later, the excellent pianist Miroslav Rác and his guests performed classical music in Prague’s Jerusalem Synagogue.
During the non-musical part of Khamora, the exhibition Out of Sight / Worlds on the Edge was on display at the Artivist Lab during July. In their work, Sead Kazanxhiu, Natálie Kubíková, and Selma Selman reflected on the influence that Covid 19 has had on the lives of marginalized groups, including the Roma.
In July, the festival visited the town of Rokycany, where the organizers, together with the Ara Art organization, presented a concert by the band Kale and the singer and accordionist Mário Bihári from the band Bachtale Apsa. The performance by the children's ensemble Loľi Ruža enriched the show. The concert followed the literary-music program "Khamoro in Rokycany" that took place in the Municipal Library the evening before, which featured a performance by singer Lenka Ferková and guitarist Marek Mike along with traditional storytelling presented in the manner of days gone by. Visitors also appreciated the exhibition entitled Invisible Force, initiated by the Romani women's group Manushe, which featured women who have stepped out of their expected social roles.
The first event of the autumn part of the festival was the September Khamoro party in Prague's Stromovka, which, among other presentations, featured a performance by one of the greatest Central European stars of popular music, Tomáš Botló.
The program of this year's Khamoro was enriched by an interactive street performance by Martin Oláh. This prominent multi-genre personality reflected on the issues of freedom illustrated by the fates of Jews and Roma during World War II.
The musical part of the festival had its grand finale with two concerts of traditional Romani music in the La Fabrice venue and the Gala Concert in the Roxy club. Seven bands from nine countries -- Romania, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, India, Spain, Russia, Hungary, Serbia, and Spain -- performed during these shows. The Boban Marković Orkestar, the Serbian brass band of the world's greatest Romani trumpet player, were among the most prominent stars. The Czech Republic was represented by the Čhave Romane band, whose leading personality is the excellent accordionist Patrik Eliáš.
Those interested could also watch the gala concert and some other events in the online internet space. In this way, the top music and dance performances were seen by more than 60,000 spectators.
This year's Khamoro was held with the financial contribution of Norwegian funds, Bader Philanthropies, the Ministry of Culture, and the City Hall of Prague.
This year's Khamoro World Roma Festival culminates with the opening of an exhibition by a prominent Romani artist from Serbia!
This year's Khamoro World Roma Festival will culminate tomorrow with the opening of large-format paintings by the prominent Romani artist Zoran Tairović, which will take place from 6 pm in the New Town Hall Gallery.
The exhibition entitled TAROT / VELIKA ARKANA contains a set of 20 original works, including multimedia and multidisciplinary performance, and presents more than thirty years of the artist's work.
Theexhibition also includes the painting "Twilight or Dawn of Europe,"which artistically depicts the death of the Teplice Roma Stanislav Tomáš, whodied after a controversial police operation.
ZoranTairović is an academic painter who holds a doctorate in the field ofinterdisciplinary management studies in the arts industry. This Roma fromSerbia is a typical example of a versatile artist. Not only has he won severalprestigious world awards for his multimedia works of art, but he is also theauthor of the first Romani opera, a musical, and several film documentaries.
Withhis activities in the field of performance art, he has participated in many festivalsand cultural events, both at home and abroad. He is the founder and director ofthe international Roma documentary film festival FROM, which takes place everyyear in the Serbian town of Mali Iđoš. He also worked as an adviser to thedeputy for the social inclusion of the Roma population.
Visitorscan see the exhibition until December 9 this year.
Thisyear's Khamoro World Roma Festival is the twenty-third in a row. Like lastyear, it was affected by the covid situation, so some concerts took place inthe spring. The musical part of Khamoro then culminated in September withconcerts of traditional Romani music and a gala concert in the Roxy club inPrague.
Thefestival organizers are Slovo 21, z.s. and Studio Production Saga, s.r.o.
