Representing Roma and Sinti: Home

Representing Roma and Sinti Photographic Constructions in Interwar Newspapers and Magazines 1918–1939/40

ABOUT THE PROJECT

The research project “Representing Roma and Sinti” deals with central questions of historical and contemporary European culture: How are cultural, social, and ethnic boundaries drawn, and how are they visually represented? It analyzes the photographic construction of Europe's largest minority as reflected in European newspapers and magazines of the interwar period. The project is funded by the Austrian Science Fund FWF (2025–2029) and is beeing carried out at the Department of European Ethnology at the University of Vienna.

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IMAGES & NARRATIVES - A BRIEF SELECTION

Hierarchies of SeeingRoma and Sinti in Photography

The history of photographic representations of Romani and Sinti people is marked by extreme social inequality between those who stood in front of the camera and those who operated it.

Barthes' violinistA photo from the “camera lucida” - reconsidered

A famous photo by André Kertész from 1921, analyzed by Roland Barthes in “camera lucida” (1980), shows how much the photographic figure of the “gypsy” functions as a wishful idea and projection.

In front of the cameraRoma photographs from the 19th and early 20th centuries

From the mid-19th century onwards, photography played a central role in the visual representation of the minority. The photographic positions of photographers, their perspectives, interests, and photographic results varied greatly over the years.

A different gaze?Photos that subvert the prevailing visual regime

Until the mid-20th century, there were very few photographs that challenged the established visual regime regarding Roma and Sinti. Three of these images, which suggest alternative visual solutions, are presented here as examples.

Article

Gazes/Countergazes

Roma and Sinti in Photography

in: Romani Studies, Vol. 36, No. 1, 2026

(peer reviewed, open access)

The article investigates the visual regimes that shaped representations of Roma and Sinti in European photography. Central to the analysis is the concept of “countergaze” – moments in which the photographed subjects disrupted, reinterpreted, or tactically negotiated the asymmetrical gaze of the camera.

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International Workshop

Gazes/Countergazes

Roma and Sinti in Photography

February 26, 2026 / University of Vienna / Department of European Ethnology

Using photography as an example, the workshop addresses central questions of historical and contemporary European culture: How are cultural, social, and ethnic boundaries drawn, and how are they visually represented? . More

Workshop

Photography research with image databases

Insights into two research projects

June 23, 2025 / University of Vienna / Department of European Ethnology

What opportunities and challenges arise from the digitization of photographic sources in the context of academic research and archiving? How does digital availability change our engagement with photographic images and the ways we view and interpret them? And what potential have image databases to offer? More

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