Mapping the Invisible: EU-Roma Gypsies

Mapping the Invisible: EU-Roma Gypsies takes the reader on a visual journey across Europe with a focus on its fastest-growing ethnic minority: the Roma. This publication is the result of a unique partnership called EU-ROMA formed by a group of architects, designers and artists wishing to raise awareness to the diversity and richness of the Roma people. The book shows us the EU-ROMA projects conducted together with the gypsy communities in Romania, Greece, Italy and the UK.

The EU-ROMA partnership was formed as a result of European Community funding, linking the four countries with the emphasis on an open dialog on Roma housing issues and public space. The intriguing networks that have been formed were aimed at mobilizing and exchanging knowledge and experience from each of the members’ specialist fields in the domain of architecture, contemporary art, urban planning, humanities, sociology and human rights. The outcomes of EU-ROMA form the heart of this book.

The book opens with an outline of the Roma cultural heritage, with a particular focus on the issues surrounding recent European migration and the current housing conditions, followed by the visual results of the projects with the Roma gypsies in Romania, Greece, Italy and the UK. Each chapter shows not only the tools and methods the artist and architects use in their projects, but also the impact of their work in the Roma communities, the challenges, personal experiences and outcomes of their work. For example: the construction of two improved ‘shacks’ in Belgrade, where recycling and waste material is used to create decent, adequate and affordable housing, offering sustainable solutions for Roma housing in Eastern Europe.

Mapping the Invisible features internationally celebrated artists in a unique partnership and is the first arts publication dedicated to European Roma gypsies. It is visually engaging and will inform and inspire readers on this fascinating cultural heritage.

Lucy Orta is an internationally renowned British artist who lives and works in Paris. Several books have been published on her and her partner’s Jorge work, including Jorge + Lucy Orta Pattern Book (Black Dog Publishing, 2007) and her work has been exhibited in major contemporary art museums around the world including the Museum of Contemporary Art Sydney, Museum Boijmans van Beuningen Rotterdam, ICA London and the Modern Art Museum, Paris. Lucy operates not only as an artist, but also as campaigner, community mediator and educator.

Ian F. Hancock, Prof. of Linguistics, Dept. of Linguistics University of Texas. Representative to the UN and to UNICEF for the Romani people, and was appointed by President Bill Clinton to represent Roma on the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council in 1997.