Arts Lab 6.0: Ziad Ameen - Month 5

As we enter the fifth month of our journey, we have started the Rroma residency at Ion Creangă School. I collaborated with Savane to facilitate the "Superhero Workshop," aimed at helping students imagine a better future for themselves. This school has a significant number of Rroma students who unfortunately face discrimination. One of the main objectives of the workshop was to address the issue of discrimination and raise awareness in an indirect way, by encouraging students to design their own superheroes who could improve their lives.

From the very first day, Savane and I engaged with the students and built a strong rapport. They eagerly began drawing their superheroes, paying close attention to outfit details. In the second session, they started crafting accessories for their superhero outfits. After two days of working with them, we had to travel to Bucharest to attend the midterm and speak at the artist residency.

Upon returning to Târgu Frumos, Kristers and Katrina informed us that they were unfortunately gonna leave the project. At that moment, I started feeling that the project was nearing its end.

On the night of our train trip to Bucharest, I had a wonderful time at the Latvian Cultural Night, where I learned so much about the language, food, and traditions through Kristera and Katrina’s presentation. Later, in the middle of the night, we rushed to the train station to catch our train to Bucharest. While waiting, Luca started playing with bubbles, making large ones, and we all joined in, playing like kids it was one of the most remarkable moments of the month. When we finally boarded the train, we arrived in Bucharest early in the morning at 7 AM. It was freezing as we walked to the hotel.

Attending the Midterm Meeting was a great opportunity to meet volunteers from different countries and build meaningful connections. However, at times, I found the training sessions a bit dull. While in Bucharest, I explored several places, including the Palace of Parliament the second-largest administrative building in the world the Old City, the Contemporary Art Museum, and the Museum of Immersive New Art, which fascinated me the most. During the training course, we surprised Salma for her birthday. I was glad she liked the postcard I had sketched for her while she was working on her clay piece.

After the midterm, I traveled to Brașov. When I arrived, the streets were covered in snow. I loved how cozy the city felt, with its unique architectural style, which was completely different from Bucharest or Iași. The surrounding nature was breathtaking. I visited historical sites like the Black Church and Peleș Castle in Sinaia. I would say Brașov is the most relaxing place I’ve visited in Romania.

After returning from Brașov, we continued the residency at Ion Creangă School in Târgu Frumos. The students had almost finished their superhero outfits, and we organized a photo session for each of them. I think they really enjoyed the workshop and became deeply connected with their creations, believing that their superheroes could make their lives better not just through their costumes but also by inspiring them to overcome future struggles.

I also continued working on my artwork about Rroma culture. It was challenging since we had only a few days left before the exhibition, but I was glad I managed to complete it in such a short time. The Rroma Exhibition was, in my opinion, a great success, with many visitors attending. My artwork, "Rroma HeART Space," was an architectural visualization of a space dedicated to celebrating Rroma culture a message aimed at raising awareness about discrimination.

I was especially happy this month because two of my photographs were selected for the Ethnographic Photography Competition "People, Places, Customs" (Third Edition). Also, this month, Yasser accidentally hurted his finger by the knive while cooking. We rushed to the hospital, and thankfully, everything was fine. The doctors gave him a vaccine as a precaution.

We also visited Cucuteni village, where we explored a house intended to become a cultural center for alternative museums. We then visited the Cucuteni Museum and hiked to the top of the hill. The view from above was stunning, white snow everywhere, making the cold weather feel magical.

Of course, I can’t forget to mention the Czech Cultural Night, which was nice. After Nikola’s presentation, I now really want to visit Prague! A week later, Sinem organized the Turkish Night, which was equally special filled with delicious food, dancing, and music. I was surprised by how much I already knew about Turkish culture.

At the end of the month, we visited the Cucuteni Museum at the high school in Târgu Frumos to gain inspiration from Cucuteni culture. I also started working with three local volunteers, collaborating with them on their artwork for the Cucuteni Exhibition. As I prepare for my next artwork, I find myself increasingly curious to explore more about Cucuteni culture its symbolism, history, and artistic expressions. I’m excited to dive deeper into this fascinating heritage and reflect it in my next art work for Cucuteni Exhibition. See you in the next and last station in my journey here. ;)

Report by  Ziad Ameen, a volunteer from Egypt and one of the 14 participants in Arts Lab 6.0, a project co-funded by the European Union through the European Solidarity Corps program.