Krzysztof Gil
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Biography
Krzysztof Gil (b. 1987, Kraków) is of Polish Roma origins and grew up in
Nowy Targ, Poland. Between 2008-2013, he studied Graphic Design at the
Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow. He is the recipient of the Jolanta
Kwaśniewska Foundation scholarship ‘Understanding without Barriers’, and
a three-time recipient of the Polish Minister of Interior and
Administration scholarship.
In 2008, he co-founded the artistic group Romani Art, and is also
involved in social activities that oppose discrimination and social
exclusion. He is a member of the ternYpe International Roma Youth
Network, which helps young Roma people to become active citizens. As he
says: ‘From the beginning of my artistic education at high school in
Krakow, the topic of Roma has been extremely important to me. Now, years
later, I realised that I had to look at my culture from different
perspectives and take more distance. It helped me to get involved in
projects against intolerance and stereotypes.’
In 2013, Gil began his PhD at the Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow. His
topic is the correlation between the past, present and future of the
Roma people, as represented by the Roma word ‘tajsa’, which translates
as both ‘today’ and ‘tomorrow.