Ferentari Studios addresses the lack of access to education, culture and professional development opportunities for disadvantaged young people in the Ferentari neighbourhood, as well as the lack of information about Roma identity and history, which creates prejudices and misperceptions of self.
The value of the grant is 978.333 RON/197.666,99 EUR. The project will be implemented in Bucharest, with a duration of 24 months (May 2022 – April 2024).
Through non-formal education in the field of art and culture, the project aims to become a coherent framework for the development of the young people involved and for relating to their own identity. Through the theatre arts mentoring programme, which will include training in the use of new technologies, 28 disadvantaged young people will encounter art and their own potential as artists or future cultural professionals. Their life stories and elements of Roma culture will be integrated into the development of 2 original theatre productions, based on which the young people will create together with Norwegian artist Lise Wulff and 2 contemporary community art installations. Subsequently, 14 of the young people will be contracted to stage the productions, giving them the opportunity to develop professionally and gain relevant experience in a cultural field they would otherwise have little chance of entering.
By exploring their passions and talents, young people will be motivated and supported to break away from street life and build a better future in an environment that offers them security, appreciation and human connection. The expected impact is to change the life trajectories of disadvantaged people, and “An intervention for them means a long-term intervention to stop extreme poverty and lack of education from perpetuating the same stereotypes as before and from condemning them to prison or drug addiction”. (Mădălina Dorobanțu, Ferentari Association).
In addition, by familiarising the Roma cultural history and raising issues related to Roma identity in community meetings with Ferentari residents, as well as through public events, the impact on the Roma community in Bucharest will be to increase self-esteem and positive reporting of their own identity and culture, while the impact on the majority population will be to combat prejudice and deepen understanding of otherness, a much-needed change in perception of how Bucharest residents relate to ghetto culture.
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