ROSA
Roma Opportunities for Schooling through Art
ROSA is an arts education project running from 2026 to 2027 as the further step in a programme of research and creative work with Italian and European Roma and Sinti communities, in which Ateliersi has been involved since 2007 and which has so far taken the form of performances, publications, events and residencies.
ROSA stems from the awereness that Roma and Sinti communities remain among the most stigmatised and persecuted minorities in Europe today and that, in many European countries, the school dropout rate among Roma and Sinti pupils remains extremely high due to the consequences of this process of exclusion. The project focuses on promoting artistic practices as a tool to combat early school leaving among Roma and Sinti boys and girls by studying, expanding and deepening the relationship between young people and school.
ROSA offers artistic programmes that – through theatre, video and the visual arts – encourage self-expression, celebrate cultural differences and promote equality, inclusion and participation in school and community life. The project is based on the idea that school should not erase cultural identities, but can become a space where different affiliations are recognised in their hybridity and diversity, both within the individual and within the group.
Partnership
ROSA is developed by Ateliersi in collaboration with three European partners who have been active for many years in the field of arts education and creative work with marginalised communities: the French theatre and video art company Cie O t’Aim from Paris; the Hungarian rural arts school Igazgyöngy Alapítvány [Vera Perla]; and the shadow theatre company Shadows & Clouds from Skopje, North Macedonia.
The project is co-funded by the European Union through the Creative Europe – European Cooperation Projects programme.
Workshops in Italian schools
During the 2026/27 school year, Ateliersi will run a series of theatre workshops in various towns across Emilia-Romagna, aimed at lower secondary schools and the first two years of upper secondary schools. The workshops will involve the whole class in an artistic exploration of the imagery associated with the school experience and its relationship with life outside school, with a particular focus on Roma and Sinti boys and girls and on preventing early school leaving. The workshops will take the form of processes of collective research and creation: pupils will be invited to become anthropologists of their own daily lives, explorers of the stories that run through school, family and peer groups. Through words, images, audio recordings, drawings and interviews, the materials collected will be transformed into staged actions and performative moments capable of conveying the complexity and diversity of perspectives on the ‘great narratives of school life’: friendships, conflicts, alliances, exclusions, fears, discoveries and desires.
International events
In addition to the workshops in Italy, Ateliersi will run art workshops in schools in France, Hungary and North Macedonia, and will take part in a series of international events and opportunities for discussion and training with artists, studios and activists in Paris, Brussels, Skopje, Berettyóújfalu and Bologna:
- Paris — 18–23 May 2026
Kick-off meeting for the project, hosted by the French company O t’Aim. The first stage of ROSA will bring together artists, educators and cultural practitioners from the four partner countries to share methodologies, tools and artistic practices developed within their respective local contexts. The meeting will focus in particular on contemporary theatre and participatory video as tools for self-expression, remembrance and speaking out. - Bruxelles — 10–11 Jun 2026
Participation in the Cooperation Grant Holders Meeting organised by the European Education and Culture Executive Agency. Two days of meetings between European projects selected under the Creative Europe 2025 programme, dedicated to networking, the exchange of best practices, updates on European cultural policies, and public project presentations. - Berettyóújfalu — 12-16 October 2026
The second international meeting hosted by Igazgyöngy Alapítvány / Vera Perla, involving the organisation of public focus groups with local stakeholders and beneficiaries, aimed at gathering feedback and strengthening collaborative approaches to the educational inclusion of Roma communities through art. - Skopje — 2-5 February 2027
The third international meeting hosted by Shadows & Clouds, featuring two public focus groups: one on methodology and one on capacity building, with discussions and workshops alongside Romani artists and activists to share practices and perspectives on participatory artistic processes. - Bologna — 4-11 April 2027
The final event of the project, hosted by Ateliersi, will take place on 8 April – to mark International Roma Day – with the organisation of the project’s Public Closing Day. The event will present the ROSA methodology to the public, featuring discussions, practical demonstrations and artistic performances, with the direct involvement of artists, activists and members of the Roma and Sinti communities.
The booklet
At the end of the project, ROSA will also take the form of a free digital publication bringing together the methodologies, practices, tools and learnings developed by the European partners throughout the project. Designed as an accessible and replicable resource, the booklet will be aimed at artists, educators and trainers, schools and social workers interested in using art as a tool for school inclusion and social participation among young Roma and Sinti and/or those from marginalised backgrounds. The publication will bring together the ROSA methodological framework, a toolkit of practices tested in national and international workshops, and a series of guidelines, lessons learnt and recommendations useful for developing new approaches to combating social exclusion through art in various European contexts.
