Interviewed by Justyna Żarczyńska
Amadea Noemi Łakatosz is a Roma activist and artist who was born in Poznań in 1997. She has a long list of completed artistic and social projects. During the celebration of International Romani Day on 8 April 2022, she received a diploma from the Minister of Culture and National Heritage for her activities to popularise Roma culture and tradition. During an interview for the E-Drom.pl site, Noemi talked not only about her work, but also shared her views on the world and her understanding of the importance of identity in the modern world.
How did it happen that you started to pursue art?
From an early age, my brother and I [Delfin Lakatosz – editor’s note] took part in art competitions. The first competition that my mother found for us and in which we took part was one organised by Aquanet. The prize-winning works, including mine and Delfin’s, were printed in a large-format calendar sent to various companies. I was four years old at the time. Mum was always on the lookout for these kinds of competitions for us. While doing so, she kept repeating that it was the idea that counted. This motivated us. She also took us to places where culture lived – from Roma culture to Polish culture. I grew up in a mixed family, so I had the opportunity to learn about art from different perspectives. Then came the scholarship competitions. One of them was a national competition for particularly talented Roma students of the Ministry of the Interior and Administration. Krystyna Markowska and Róża Kowalska supported its organisation. Volunteers applied in various categories, including sport and art. As part of our participation in this competition, we went to Warsaw with Delfin. At first, I only accompanied him because I was not yet of an age to participate in the competition. Then the location of the trips changed. We started going to Łódź. Roma people from all over Poland came there, who wanted to take part in this competition. We were judged by a jury. We always spent a few days there, and met other Romani people. That’s how various relationships were established, which continue to this day. A big Roma family was formed. We grew up together, even though we only saw each other once a year.
What came later?
Theatre and film came into my life. We made a lot of videos with Delfin, which we published on our channel on YouTube. Then I started working with children as a free time animator. I’ve been doing that for nine years now. I have gained a lot of experience. I know what children don’t like, and they especially don’t like it when an idea is taken away from them, when something is corrected after them. That’s why I try to support their creative thinking and ideas, which they then implement themselves. I have also led various creative workshops – including art and film – for other groups. Recently, with Delfin, I created two murals in Wrocław that refer to Roma culture and the situation in the world. The first was a project by Małgorzata Mirga-Tas, who trusted us with the execution, for which I am extremely grateful, as it gave us the skills, and the second was created entirely on our initiative.
You said that you have had contact with both Roma culture and Polish culture. You are an artist of the young generation. What significance do your background and identity have for you?
This is one of the most important things. I used to find my background challenging because when I was growing up there was discrimination. It was not easy. But the fact that I met so many people on various trips, such as to Romania or to Czarna Góra, where, with Gosia Mirga-Tas, I led art workshops for children during the “Lato w Teatrze” (Summer at the Theatre) half-term camp, enabled me to experience truly beautiful moments that cannot even be described. Now I think that the fact that I have an element of Roma identity in me can make me more creative. Identity is something that others might not understand; it is something of mine. Just as the Roma used to wander, I like to travel. I am curious about the world and – here I may be too romantic – I long for freedom. This freedom helps me in my creativity. It allows me to push the boundaries, for example in painting when I look for different techniques and colours, but it also helps me to stimulate others to do the same. Last year I did a workshop about identity with my colleagues. It was organised by FemFund. We then created a project on women’s identity. It was entitled Miro Khamoro. It was about a tree that grows towards the sun. Every woman can be a tree, grow, have different branches, but what she has inside comes from the roots. Following this theme, we came up with an installation along the lines of a Roma skirt. We created and showed it at the Arsenal in Poznań. The construction consisted of two parts: a petticoat and a Roma skirt, sewn from different materials. Many people came, women and men. We wanted to encourage people to answer the question of what each piece was: a petticoat, which is an important part of a Roma costume because it allows a woman to remain intimate while dancing, or perhaps a multicoloured skirt that makes a show, and is visible to others.
You have partly answered another question I wanted to ask, that is what “Roma culture” actually means to you and what elements of it are particularly important to you. As I understand from what you have just said, it is something very intimate, which can be difficult to describe accurately…
For me, Roma culture is all about music. Every year my family and I go to the Romane Dyvesa festival, which takes place in the amphitheatre in Gorzów. I used to go there when I wasn’t even born yet, or rather, I was there, but in my mother’s belly. It’s a beautiful event that provides an opportunity for integration. It is not only the Roma who come to the festival, but people from all over the world. And what happens on stage is real musical artistry. Music has had an effect on me since I was a child. It is the element, the freedom, the lack of patterns, the diversity, the multicolour. It’s an expression of longing for what is no longer there.
I thought that when your mother, being pregnant and having you in her belly, participated in this festival, the roots of your identity were already being planted…
Yes, these things have shaped me. But it’s a pity that it’s only at such inclusive and cultural events that people are so open, and that there is a lack of understanding in everyday life. Of course, I’ve also met people who are open all the time and ask me how I see things, what my attitude to my background is, but what I miss in everyday life is kindness from both sides. In order for both sides to open up, both sides also need support.
What could improve the situation?
First of all, education. There should be more Roma assistants in schools and training in this area. I myself was an assistant in a school in Poznań. This is a very difficult profession, because you have to take the side of the child as well as understand the family situation and the teacher. There should be more talk about the Roma community in schools. It is not just about showing it as a national minority. There is a lack of in-depth information in this area. I remember that this made me uncomfortable during lessons. There should be more conferences with Romani people. It would be useful to help talented children more so that they can develop. It would also be useful to help them with their studies, for example through tutoring.
What do you pay special attention to when you plan and implement activities as a workshop leader on a daily basis?
First I have to get to know people, find out who I am dealing with. The most important thing is to make everyone feel comfortable. I don’t want to force anyone into anything. I check what and who feels best: manual activities, movement games or something else. When, in Warsaw, as part of my cooperation with the Dom Kultury Foundation, I conducted workshops for imprisoned people and proposed that each of the participants paint a character who was an inspiration to her or someone she missed or whom she would like to meet, I tried first of all to listen to each of the women, to guide them in their ideas and then to get them involved. I was keen to convince each person who said they couldn’t paint that maybe, instead of drawing an exact human silhouette, they could create some kind of symbol to associate with the person they chose. I try to think outside the box and unleash creativity in people, even if they are not too confident yet. I am open to any social group I have to reach. I don’t analyse who is who. Sometimes I only find out on the spot who will be attending the workshop. There have been times when I have co-presented open activities, where people came from the street who happened to be passing by and became interested in what we were doing. This was, for example, the basis for the activities during the Romani Kultura – Wandering Festival.
Let’s talk about your painting. I’ve noticed that there are a lot of female figures in your paintings. But you also paint fantasy creatures, such as dragons. Do you refer to any specific stories in your work, to a particular story? Do you rely on your imagination and create the story on canvas yourself? What inspires you?
Everything. Everyday life, memories, colours. How I see the world on a daily basis or in my dreams. Dragons appear because I am interested in Japanese culture. I like that you can speculate about what dinosaurs looked like, but the existence of dragons is a fantasy and so I can create them in many ways. No one has seen them, so they are the perfect subject for creativity. I can paint them in my own way. On the other hand, female characters also happen. I try to show women who are dreaming about something; it’s not uncommon for them to have their eyes closed in their paintings. When you close your eyes in a place, for example in a forest or during a concert, you listen to yourself. It is this moment that I try to show in my paintings. Recently, I have had various commissions. In one case, I painted a painting intended for a study where music therapy is conducted. I created a portrait of a woman in the water. The waves are pushing her and there is a beautiful sky all around. I wanted this figure to feel freedom and fluidity. That’s how I also showed her confidence. I thought to myself that this would be the perfect painting for music therapy, because any person who wanted to relax would be able to look at it and find peace, to return to some good place in their memory, to daydream… Colour is very important to me in painting. I am fascinated by how colours are created, how the structure of a painting can be created with successive layers of paint.
It’s the multiplicity of colours that is the characteristic of your work. You are relaxed about it. Just like in the way you lay down paint, in which you can see a sweep of movement. I can even see references to impressionism in this…
It’s cool that you pointed that out, because I like impressionism a lot. My favourite painter is Claude Monet. Once at a scholarship competition I heard that my style resembled his painting. That’s when I started to get interested in it. Although I’m not at the stage of painting, I can compare myself to him. I like how he was able to capture the fleeting moment. Of course, I also appreciate Polish painters, such as Józef Pankiewicz or Zofia Stryjeńska. In the museum or when browsing through albums, I would always look at the paintings for a long time, wondering what type of brush was used when it was created, how the painter created a particular colour and what inspired him. It still fascinates me.
You like the Impressionists, and they were, after all, often interested in Japanese art. Monet, for example, was an enthusiast of it. You also mentioned that Japanese art is close to you. So everything is connected.
That is true. I like the Japanese approach even to simple things, such as making tea. For them, it’s not just about the tea. The very ceremony of preparing and drinking it is also important and can be the key to starting a conversation. It’s important to notice moments like this in life, to be able to stop, to just be here and now. This is when most ideas come through.
And what are your plans for the near future?
The Towards Dialogue Foundation is organising an interesting project. It’s about a programme called Academy of Roma Women Leaders, which I have the opportunity to take part in, and which includes various workshops focused not only on Roma women leaders, but on the subject of femininity in general. On this occasion, there is a chance to meet many women – those who want to achieve something and those who have already achieved something. I would like to build myself by participating in such meetings, trainings and courses. I am thinking about self-development not only in the area of art. I want to be even more open to what the world can give me.
I think this is a very nice conclusion to our conversation. May your plans come to life. Thank you for taking the time to talk to me.
Interviewed by: Justyna Żarczyńska
Photos from the private archive of Noemi Amadea Łakatosz
Funded by KPO. GRANTS 2024. A2.5.1: Programme of support for the activities of entities of the cultural and creative industries to stimulate their development
