Mar 27, 2026, 6:30 PM – 8 PM

Roma In Conversation: Ethel Brooks, George Eli, Petra Gelbart and Cristiana Grigore

Ceija Stojka, *Untitled*, 1995. Acrylic and sand on paper, 27 3/8 x 39 1/8 inches (69.5 x 99.5 cm). Private collection. Photo: © Célia Pernot © 2026 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / Bildrecht, Vienna

Join Ethel Brooks, Professor and Chair of Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Rutgers University; teacher of Romani spiritualism, filmmaker, and author George Eli; ethnomusicologist, musician and music therapist Petra Gelbart and research scholar Cristiana Grigore of the Roma Peoples Project for a conversation on the subject of Romani knowledge production, collective memory and vision forward, building new narratives for the future. As members of the international Romani community, they bring their diverse perspectives on identity, activism, Romani survival and resilience, and on the impactful life and legacy of Stojka.

This conversation is presented on ocassion of Ceija Stojka: Making Visible, our exhibition featuring the work of Roma artist, activist, writer, lyricist, and singer Ceija Stojka (1933-2013). Comprising more than sixty artworks, as well as a selection of sketchbooks, archival material, and documentary films made during Stojka’s lifetime, Making Visible explores the fullness of Stojka’s production as a visual artist, centered in her Roma life and heritage. Spurred by the resurgence of extreme right nationalism in Austria and abroad, and by her experiences as a Holocaust survivor, Stojka created works of profound beauty and horror that resonate today in strikingly contemporary terms.

ASL interpreters will be available during this event.

Ethel Brooks

Dr. Brooks is an Associate Professor in Women’s and Gender Studies and Sociology, teaches courses in comparative and historical sociology, globalization and postcolonial social formations. She is currently finishing a book on transnational organizing in the garment industry with a focus on Dhaka , San Salvador and New York City.

Dr. Brooks is interested in relations of gender, race, class, labor practices and nation-state formations, with a focus on South Asia, Central America and the United States. Her research explores areas of critical political economy, globalization, social movements, feminist theory, comparative sociology, nationalism, urban geographies and post-colonialism, with close attention to epistemology. In her dissertation, she examined three transnationally-organized protest movements for workers' rights in the global garment industry: (1) against poor working conditions in export-processing zones in El Salvador; (2) against the use of child labor in the Bangladesh garment industry; and (3) against immigrant sweatshops in New York City. Her work focuses on the relationship between protest organizers and the mostly women workers they represent, as part of the everyday manifestations of globalized production practices. She is currently working on a book that looks at transnational labor organizing, women's work and relations of globalization and empire.

Dr. Brooks's recent and forthcoming publications include "Transnational Protest, Production and Women's Labor: The politics of sweatshops and the global garment industry," forthcoming in The Journal of International Labor and Working Class History, 2001; "Bangladesh's Garment Industry, Child Labor and Urban Sustainability," forthcoming in Saskia Sassen, ed., The Encyclopedia of Urban Sustainability, (UNESCO: 2001); "Globalized Chinese Capital in Central America," with Amy Freedman, in Asian Pacific Perspectives, May 2001; "Campañas transnacionales de protesta y la nueva división internacional de trabajo: Cuestiones de género en el sector maquila," in Apuntes de Investigación, November 2000; and "After the Wars: Cross-Border Organizing in Central America" with Winifred Tate in NACLA: Report on the Americas, Special Issue on Labor, January/February 1999. Her future projects include an examination of consumption practices and discourses of empire, gender and agrobusiness in Central America and South Asia and a critical study of Romanies and discursive formations of "gypsiness." Professor Brooks has a joint appointment with the Department of Women's and Gender Studies.
George Eli

George Eli (whose pen name is G.S. Eli) is an American Rom who grew up in a traditional Romani family in the United States. As a child, he was taught that the Romani people must remain separate from the outside world. However, as he grew into adulthood, George realized that his deep Romani traditions and the ancient and mystical teachings of spiritual therapy could help others. So, for more than 10 years, he has helped hundreds of clients reach their goals and lasting spiritual understanding and wellness to live their best life.

In 2009, George set out to create an ambitious documentary entitled “Searching for the 4th Nail,” which explored and questioned many of the Romani traditions he grew up with and which he also passed down to his children. The film went on to be featured at many international film festivals, and it won the “Best Filmmaker Award” at the Connecticut Film Festival. Eli also served as a producer on the highly successful documentary “When the Road Bends: Tales of a Gypsy Caravan” (2006), which starred Johnny Depp and was directed by Jasmine Dellal.

The Romani Media Initiative (RMI), an activist organization founded by George Eli, believes one of the solutions to the problems of Romani exclusion from society is an art movement that promotes positive Romani role models and a positive view of the Romani culture. This void in popular culture was the inspiration behind George’s latest novel, “The Last of the Magi: The Devouring.” The novel is the first installment of a new young adult trilogy, which hopes to promote a much-needed positive hero and illuminate the Romani plight and culture to readers across the world.

Today, George continues to provide his spiritual services to clients who come from all over the Tri-State area. He has also been featured on NPR, WEBE-108, FOX News’s Tucker Carlson, and CNN’s Anderson Cooper. Additionally, he’s a featured speaker at Harvard University where he shares his teachings in spiritualism and his expertise on the Romani culture.
Petra Gelbart

Dr Petra Gelbart is a Romani educator, scholar, and musician.

She was first introduced to Romani music and language by her family while growing up in Czechoslovakia. She earned her Ph.D. in musicology/ethnomusicology at Harvard University and went on to co-found the Initiative for Romani Music at New York University.

Her research interests include interethnic communication, the psychology of music, the Holocaust, and institutional ethnography. At the university level, she has taught the theory, practice, and cultural context of Romani music as well as other subjects.

Dr Gelbart is also a board-certified music therapist specialised in rehabilitative and developmental therapy.

In addition to practising in New York City, she works with Czech foster and adoptive families raising Romani children.
Cristiana Grigore

Cristiana Grigore is a writer and research scholar based in New York. In 2017 she founded the Roma Peoples Project at Columbia University. She frequently writes and speaks about the Roma peoples identity and condition in a global context. Cristiana's essays and reporting have been featured in The New York Times, Hyperallergic, Newsweek,Vogue, NPR, CNN among other outlets. Her study of Roma portrayal in the arts has led to collaborative changes in exhibitions at several major museums.

Ceija Stojka: Making Visible is made possible by Phileas - The Austrian Office for Contemporary Art; the Robert Lehman Foundation; the Republic of Austria’s Federal Ministry of Housing, Arts, Culture, Media and Sport (BMWKMS); and the Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation.

Support for the exhibition catalog is provided by Furthermore: a program of the J. M. Kaplan Fund.

Special thanks to the Ceija Stojka International Association.