WELCOME TO ROMANISTAN: CONVERSATIONS ON ROMANI CONTRIBUTIONS TO POP CULTURE 

Join Paulina Stevens and Jezmina Von Thiele, authors of Secrets of Romani Fortune Telling, alongside Ylva Mara Radziszewski, author of A Practical Guide for Witches and co-author of The Living Altar Oracle Deck with Kiki Robinson, for an enlightening exploration of Romani art and culture’s influence on contemporary literature, art, and new age spirituality. This panel will recontextualize harmful tropes that overshadow Romani contributions to modern culture, with a focus on post modern spiritual practices, while highlighting invisibilized obstacles faced by minorities within creative industries.We will examine the connections between popular fortune-telling methods—tarot, palmistry, and tea leaf reading—and their origins within the Romani diaspora. Additionally, we will highlight the often-overlooked contributions of the Romani people—commonly misidentified by the derogatory term “Gypsies”—to popular culture. Having faced centuries of persecution within their diaspora from India, the Romani developed various survival trades, including fortune telling, performance art, handicraft, and storytelling which helped preserve their cultural identity. This panel discussion will address how Romani traditions have shaped widely recognized divination practices, whose origins are frequently obscured in mainstream narratives. We will also explore the representation and misrepresentation of Romani culture in popular media, challenging stereotypes that contribute to misunderstandings about the Romani people.