HOW A MUSEUM OF ROMA CULTURE SHOULD (NOT) LOOK LIKE: ANTHROPOLOGICAL PREMISES AND MUSEUM STUDIES CONSIDERATIONS IN THE 21ST CENTURY
HOW A MUSEUM OF ROMA CULTURE SHOULD (NOT) LOOK LIKE: ANTHROPOLOGICAL PREMISES AND MUSEUM STUDIES CONSIDERATIONS IN THE 21ST CENTURY

Summary/Abstract: The topic of this article is a reflection upon the timeliness and possibility of establishing a Museum of Roma People, more specifically, a museum able to present and re-present the Roma cultural identity in contemporary Romania. The two quotations above put in perspective the initial assumptions of my approach: firstly, the Roma identity is, from the very beginning, considered here in non-essentialist terms (i.e. this is not about discovering and reifying once and for all, in a museum, the “true Roma identity”). Secondly, but equally important, the quotations emphasize the fact that the aim of this article is to provide arguments in favor of the idea that the purpose of a Museum of Roma People should also be to bring to life and give a voice to various Roma identities, as lived and negotiated nowadays within compact Roma communities, as well as outside them.

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