January 2023
Maribor and Pohorje

In January 2023, photographer Jasmina Vidmar is preparing the exhibition Views in Different Directions, based on close collaboration with Romani women. To support the realisation of the exhibition, Epeka is organising a four-week residency for the artist at our premises on Pohorje, where we will provide her with the peace needed for in-depth creative work and a space for community gatherings.

Alongside the main exhibition programme, we expanded Vidmar’s artistic process with a stay on Pohorje, which was not initially planned. We introduced this extension with the intention of enabling deeper work with Romani women, as we wanted to build strong bonds of trust and a safe environment for creation through spending time together. The artist worked closely with the participants while presenting the basic idea that later led to the final exhibition. The residency was a blend of the author’s reflection and regular meetings, during which the participants co-shaped the appearance of the exhibited works together with her. We developed this approach in the course of the project itself, as it became clear that Romani women need additional encouragement and, above all, a sense of safety in order to be fully included. In this way, an exhibition emerged that was not only an artistic project, but also the result of genuine collaboration, trust, and a shared creative vision—formed in the quiet shelter of nature.

About the exhibition:

With this exhibition, we wanted to foreground the beauty of women—Romani women. We wanted to show that Romani women do not need to be dressed in traditional clothing in order to spark discourse about their possibilities, opportunities, and the obstacles they face. We wanted to present their proud posture, the sharpness of their features, and the strength and influence they carry. We wanted others to see them as they are—equal to everyone else. When viewing the portraits, no one will know whether any of them cannot read or write, whether any of them, due to circumstances, married when she turned fourteen, or whether any of them finished primary school with top marks. Because none of that matters when it comes to accepting someone, getting to know them, and giving them an opportunity. The goal is not to deepen differences, but to recognise that there are countless parallels among us that we often—sometimes deliberately—overlook. More.

About the author:

She began working with photography in the 1980s through collaboration with the student newspaper Katedra. During this time, she published photographs in the newspapers Teleks, Večer, and Valter brani Sarajevo. In the early 1990s, she focused on nude photography, which she defines as narratives of stories captured in women’s bodies. She published and presented this work in the newspaper Večer, in the columns Punk je mrtev and Smeri razvoja, and at numerous exhibitions—mostly in Maribor, but also in Ptuj, Škofja Loka, Koper, Izola, Lenart, Radovljica, Zagorje ob Savi, and elsewhere. As a member of Foto klub Maribor, she also took part in a group exhibition of Maribor photographers in 1991. In 1992, she exhibited at the Trieste gallery in Ronchi dei Legionari, Italy, and in 1993 at Galerija Kapelica in Ljubljana. Her photographs have appeared in numerous books and handbooks (Zbornik literature in fotografij avtoric mlajše generacije – Sirota Jerica No. 6: ženska.si, …), on occasional postcards (published by the Women’s Network within LDS for International Women’s Day on 8 March, …), and in many newspapers. In 1995, she created a photograph for the poster of the theatre production Alma Karlin, organised by Cankarjev dom and performed by Polona Vetrih.

She publishes photo reportages in the newspapers Delo and Večer, and has also provided photographic material for several other publications and newspapers. In 2011, she exhibited at the Zetra Hall in Sarajevo on the occasion of Nexpa 2011. In 2012, she presented her exhibition – Never Forget Me at the Regional Museum Maribor; the photographs were later also shown at the Museum of Recent History in Celje and at the Regional Museum in Koper. At the beginning of 2018, she exhibited the lyrical and deeply personal photographic narrative – Prelude to Melancholy in Domžale (Menačenkova domačija) and in Ruše as part of Glazer Days. At the beginning of 2018, the book – Temporary Residence – Na grad 25, IG was published, for which she provided the photographic material.

The book was created within the project “We Include and Activate (2016–2019),” co-financed by the European Union from the European Social Fund and led by the Slovenian Book Agency (Javna agencija za knjigo RS). The photographs, taken in 2018 in the only women’s prison in Slovenia (Ig), were exhibited as part of the promotion of the book at the Prison Administration in Ig, at the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, at the Faculty of Arts in Ljubljana, at the Cultural Centre in Domžale, at the Faculty of Social Sciences in Ljubljana, at the Regional Museum in Maribor, and in November also at the Faculty of Education in Ljubljana.

In cooperation with the Association for Connecting Romani Women Loli Luludi. Thanks to Ruška koča for providing the artist with free accommodation on Pohorje and enabling the meetings with participants.