ARA ART

Established in 2012 with the support of the city of Prague, the EU, and many other public donors, ARA ART is the the only non-profit organization in Europe dedicated to uplifting LGBTQIA+ members of the historically persecuted and presently marginalized Roma/Romani ethnic group in Central Europe. Through artivism, theater, and youth community building, ARA ART helps the Romani queer community navigate multiple streams of societal and systemic oppression and confront methods of community healing. While the Romani people have long experienced racism and discrimination across the geographic region, discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity can also frequently come from within the Roma community itself, alongside mainstream homophobic and transphobic discrimination. For queer Roma people, the consequences of intersectional discrimination can be excommunication, homelessness, abandonment by the family, and violence.

Among much else, ARA ART operates as platform and outreach hub for Romani LGBT+ individuals seeking emergency services and community support. The foundation aims to strengthen the call for both national-level and EU-wide policies on the integration of Romani communities in the Member States in order to promote institutional anti-discrimination operations that reflect the needs of the diverse composition of the groups within the Roma ethnic group.

ARA ART’s artivism pursuits (artistic activism) include theatre productions, gallery shows, community event coordination for Roma holidays, and festivals. ARA ART’s theatre group remains the only professional Romani theater troupe in the Czech Republic, and performances typically showcase current topics pertaining to the local Roma people, including LGBT+ related issues and topics that are almost non-existent in mainstream art. Furthermore, In 2016, ARA ART founded a gallery project called Phundrado Vudar – Open Door. For the first two years of its existence, the gallery was part of the evening program of a café Souterrain in the Vinohrady district. Since 2018 it has been moved to outdoor locations in various places in Prague and other cities across the Czech Republic.