30/07/2026
🌱 Meet 2026 TJA Fellow Mihaela Drăgan (.kali).
Mihaela Drăgan is a Bucharest-based q***r Roma artist, director, and playwright working to reclaim narrative authority for marginalized bodies. In 2014, she co-founded 𝘎𝘪𝘶𝘷𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘳𝘦 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘺, Romania's first independent Roma feminist theater company, where she collaborates with, performs, and mentors an emerging generation of Roma artists.
Using joyful performance, dramaturgy, and filmmaking, including Drăgan’s upcoming collaborative documentary 𝘐 𝘖𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘗𝘳𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘚𝘢𝘳𝘢 𝘒𝘢𝘭𝘪 (currently in production), 𝘎𝘪𝘶𝘷𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘦𝘯 confronts centuries of systemic racism, violence, and anti-Roma bias.
By shifting public focus away from victimhood toward collective memory and intergenerational resistance in the Roma community, 𝘎𝘪𝘶𝘷𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘦𝘯 pursues a future in which past violations are not repeated.
🔗 Learn more about Mihaela and 𝘎𝘪𝘶𝘷𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘦𝘯 on ↗afield.org/person/mihaela-dragan
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𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘛𝘑𝘈 𝘎𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘫𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘮 𝘣𝘺 𝘈𝘍𝘐𝘌𝘓𝘋, 𝘈𝘳𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘊𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘍𝘳𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘳 𝘍𝘳𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘥. 𝘐𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘰-𝘧𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘌𝘶𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘜𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯.
📷 1. Mihaela Drăgan, 𝘐 𝘖𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘗𝘳𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘚𝘢𝘳𝘢 𝘒𝘢𝘭𝘪, film still. Filmed by: Andreea Campeanu. 2. Mihaela Drăgan. Photo: Amalia Draniceanu. 3. Mihaela Drăgan, 𝘜𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘔𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴: 𝘌𝘹𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘓𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘦𝘴, 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘙𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘔𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘚𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘴, Stiftung Kai Dikhas & Kunstraum Dikhas Dur, 2024. Photo: Jana Kießer. All images courtesy of the artist.