Death Threat for Museum Director over Roma Exhibition

George Mihal Vasilescu in the Museum in Bucharest, standing in front of two of his works. Photo: Lucian Muntean via Artists for Roma
George Mihal Vasilescu in the Museum in Bucharest, standing in front of two of his works. Photo: Lucian Muntean via Artists for Roma

 

The director of Bucharest’s Museum of the Romanian Peasant, Virgil Nitulescu, has received a death threat via e-mail over his current exhibition of 15 paintings by George Vasilescu, the dpa reports. A selection of the works depict musicians from the Roma people playing a controversial genre of music called Manele.

According to Nitulescu, the threat is the latest in a series of attacks, which have cited the exhibition as reflecting poorly on Romanian national identity and called for Nitulescu’s resignation, among other measures.

The campaign is most visibly led by Romanian politician Bogdan Diaconu who is a member of the socialist, Partidul Social Democrat (PSD) political party. He has flooded his Facebook wall with articles and commentary about the exhibition.

In 2013, Manele music was banned in public transport, taxis, and festivals in some portions of Romania. The country has come under fire from international press for breeding increasing anti-Roma sentiments.


Follow Artnet News on Facebook:


Want to stay ahead of the art world? Subscribe to our newsletter to get the breaking news, eye-opening interviews, and incisive critical takes that drive the conversation forward.

Share

Article topics
Subscribe or log in to read the rest of this content.

You are currently logged into this Artnet News Pro account on another device. Please log off from any other devices, and then reload this page continue. To find out if you are eligible for an Artnet News Pro group subscription, please contact [email protected]. Standard subscriptions can be purchased on the subscription page.

Log In