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Image from the official inauguration of Lazăr Năftănăilă`s house
At the National Village Museum "Dimitrie Gusti" in Bucharest, an ambitious project was carried out that highlighted the cultural richness of the Roma people through an unique collaboration with the ANNO Museum in Norway. Together, the two museums made a journey through time and space dedicated to this minority.
Held between January 2022 – April 2024, the "ROM(a)NOR Interferences" project, supported by EEA Grants through the RO-Culture program, aimed to contribute to the revitalization of the Roma cultural heritage by attracting a new audience eager to hear their story and learn their history.
"We proposed research campaigns in Roma villages across the country. We aimed to learn about the history of the Roma`s settlement and life and to identify their heritage, which was later transferred to the Village Museum for the open-air exhibition or heritage collections. Then we organized fairs and debate sessions on the revitalization and promotion of traditional Roma crafts," explained the Museum`s manager, Ms. Paula Popoiu.
A Roma household rebuilt in Bucharest
Following research conducted by museum specialists in the field, in libraries, and archives, and considering the architectural character of the Roma, the decision was made to replicate a house of memorial value.
This was also the most significant achievement of the project: the relocation and reconstruction of an ethnographic heritage building, namely a Roma household (house, workshop, well) at the prestigious museum in Bucharest.
Lazăr Năftănăilă was a man who in a very difficult era during the two World Wars, had the extraordinary courage to speak about the rights of the Roma, among whom he was a part. He was also the president of the first modern Roma association in Romania (The Non-Rustic Brotherhood Society, 1926) and the founder of the first Roma newspaper (The Gypsy Nation, 1934).
The house relocated and rebuilt at the Village Museum in Bucharest was built around 1890 by George Năftănăilă, Lazăr`s father.
Traditional house from the Roma community rebuilt at the Village Museum in Bucharest.
„We are probably the first museum to do something like this. The project involved researching the Roma ethnicity and several mandatory objectives. We brought the Roma house and transferred it to the museum after a year of research in Roma villages across the country. We chose the house from Calbor village, the house of Lazăr Năftănăilă, one of the leaders of this ethnicity from the interwar period who fought for the rights of his ethnicity," added Ms. Paula Popoiu.
To present intangible heritage innovatively adapted to the 21st century, a web application with virtual reality and artificial intelligence technology created a predefined avatar providing information about some of the Roma crafts: wood, iron, and copper working, among others.
Thus, the household transferred from a locality in Brașov county got a virtual assistant named Lazăr, located in the shed next to the house, a shed brought from Maramureș belonging to Ioan Șimon in the 1950s.
The virtual assistant Lazăr guides museum visitors through an unique experience explained by Rareș-Ioan Dina, assistant manager of the ROM(a)NOR Interferences project: "The public will see in the shed an exhibition dedicated to the Roma with elements of history and material culture, as we also have films kept in the Village Museum`s archive. This exhibition is augmented by the character Lazăr based on artificial intelligence, which can answer questions about Roma culture and tradition. He could answer many questions: what are the Roma traditions, Roma music, we can ask him anything. Even if he answers incorrectly at first, he will perfect his answers because he uses information collected from the internet, having a database."
The virtual assistant named Lazăr can be found in the shed next to the Roma house.
Additionally, the shed was transformed into a modern and unconventional space with the help of IT equipment and VR technology. The shed also hosts the exhibition "The Roma from Romania. Our Story."
Rareș-Ioan Dina, assistant manager of the ROM(a)NOR Interferences project, added: “The VR applications are based on the intangible heritage of the Roma, namely: the coppersmiths, blacksmiths, and the rudari (woodworkers), promoting their craft. Those who pass the VR initiation tests will be projected into a bear game where they will have the opportunity to see a lost custom from Roma culture."
Lazăr Năftănăilă`s shoemaking workshop was rebuilt near the house.
Roma crafts presented at fairs and free traditional craft initiation courses
Traditional crafts at risk of extinction were revitalized through an innovative vision, and the public had the opportunity to discover them at the four fairs, exhibitions, and shows organized under ROM(a)NOR.
Roma blacksmiths forged metals, potters shaped clay, coppersmiths used copper to make household and decorative items, silversmiths created delicate pieces and jewelry, woodworkers turned wood into art, and musicians offered charming and creative demonstrations.
Interior of the shed where visitors can learn about Roma traditions and crafts through VR applications and more.
An essential component was also the development of skills through debates, training activities, and public events. Courses were organized in the fields of creative industries and traditional crafts, entrepreneurship, and cultural heritage for 140 participants.
Roma craftsmen were also involved as trainers in thematic workshops for students. Through partnerships with local schools, development opportunities were offered to Roma children and youth who learned to craft various items from wood, metal or silver.
Another important point of the project was the creation of an impressive collection of over 800 traditional items collected or purchased to be conserved and displayed in the museum. For the realization of the collection, more than 80 villages in 7 counties plus Bucharest (Constanța, Călărași, Ialomița, Giurgiu, Teleorman, Olt, Dolj) were researched, with 87 Roma individuals interviewed to identify intangible heritage elements and deepen the understanding of Roma culture.
Some elements were selected by experts conducting field research to be promoted within the project, with over 9000 photos taken.
The entire exhibition complex was complemented by panels with various digitally colored historical photos.
A visionary initiative realized in collaboration with Norwegian Partners
ROM(a)NOR Interferences focused on valuing the cultural heritage and traditions of the Roma while strengthening bilateral relations between Romania and Norway through specific cultural heritage cooperation activities.
"As a representative of the Norwegian side in the ROM(a)NOR Interferences project, I must highlight the excellent collaboration and the exceptional way we were received here in Romania. Not least, the friendships we made with many people from the Village Museum. At the Anno Museum, we have a national responsibility to work with the Roma or `travelers,` as we call them in Norway. It was exciting to take the next step through this collaboration with the Village Museum. We are grateful to have been able to take part in this project," said Ola Mørkhagen, representative of the Norwegian partner.
Mobile cultural assets were conserved and restored by specialists from the Dimitrie Gusti Museum in Bucharest in collaboration with Norwegian partners.
Additionally, at the fair organized at the Anno Museum in Norway, Roma craftsmen from Romania participated, making connections and friendships with Norwegian Roma. Of course, Roma craftsmen from Norway also participated in fairs organized in Bucharest. Two temporary mirror exhibitions about the Romani population in Norway and the Roma in Romania were also realized.
The exhibition "Romani People. Tater. Travellers. Vandriar" organized by the Anno Museum was inaugurated at the last ROM(a)NOR Interferences Fair held at the National Village Museum "Dimitrie Gusti" between October 13-15, 2023. It could be visited in the Henri Stahl room until mid-March 2024.
The exhibition "The Roma from Romania. Our Story" organized by the National Village Museum at the Anno Museum was launched on March 10, 2024, and is open until the end of September.
Non-reimbursable financing of over 67 million Lei
The financial support of the 2014-2021 EEA Grants provided through the RO-Culture Program played a vital role in facilitating this project through non-reimbursable financing of over 67 million lei.
The EEA and Norway Grants represent the contribution of Iceland, the Principality of Liechtenstein, and the Kingdom of Norway to reducing economic and social disparities in the European Economic Area and strengthening bilateral relations with the 15 beneficiary states from Eastern and Southern Europe and the Baltic states. These funding mechanisms are established based on the Agreement on the European Economic Area, which brings together EU member states and Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway as equal partners in the internal market. In total, the three states contributed with 3.3 billion euros between 1994 and 2014 and 2.8 billion euros for the 2014-2021 funding period.