Fifteen paintings of four Roma Gallery artists exhibited in the Budapest Citi Service Center headquarters
September 13, 2012
In line with Citi's commitment to support local communities and promote diversity internally and externally around the globe, the Community Volunteering Committee of the Citi Service Center in Hungary is organizing a Roma Gallery in their headquarter premises in Budapest. Fifteen paintings of four young talented Roma artists, and five of another two artists, all members of the Budapest Roma Gallery Association, will be exhibited on the walls of the corridors and offices of the Citi Service Center from September 12 to October 8, 2012.
Tibor Balogh (1975), Kálmán Káli-Horváth (1975), Zsolt Vári (1974), Sándor Kiss (1974) are the Roma artists, and Marianna Borkó (1977) and Gábor Szerényi (1953) are the non-Roma artists whose paintings are featured in the exhibition.
In the afternoon of September 12, 2012, Maurice Thompson, Chief Executive Officer of Citi International plc, the legal entity comprising the Budapest Citi Service Center, and Citi Country Officer for the United Kingdom, along with Terry O'Leary, Regional Head of O&T in EMEA and Gregg Morton, Head of Citi Shared Services in EMEA joined Batara Sianturi, Citi Country Officer for Hungary, Bea Elod, Head of the Budapest Citi Service Center, the leadership team and around 100 service center employees at the exhibition opening ceremony. The ceremony was held in the framework of a Town Hall and as part of Citi's O&T Culture Week activities.
Citi Senior Team with the Roma Gallery artists at the exhibition opening on 12 September
At the opening ceremony Maurice Thompson said, "I am very impressed by the talent and performance of our Hungary Service Center team of around 700 young professionals serving our Citi entities in the region and globally in various functions. This is a very diverse team in terms of nationality, gender, ethnicity and religion and today our colleagues in Hungary reinforced Citi's commitment to diversity by hosting this Roma Gallery in our premises. I am very pleased to have met these accomplished and enthusiastic artists, and continue to be impressed by the dedication and professionalism of our Service Center team."
Batara Sianturi, Citi Country Officer for Hungary, also remarked, "This initiative represents a creative addition to our long-term strategic community programs in Hungary. I hope that providing these young artists this opportunity to showcase their pieces of arts in such a diverse environment as our Citi Service Center will have a positive impact on their arts careers."
Kálmán Káli-Horváth, one of the Roma artists noted, "We all come from a very difficult background and have been working hard to achieve our goal of becoming an appreciated artist in Hungary and there is a long way to go. We believe that everyone has their fortune in their own hands and everyone can reach their dreams and aspirations if they work relentlessly to get there. However, one must be open to, and seek out any opportunities to expand professionally and support their career growth. We consider this initiative a valuable opportunity to enhance our artist profile and build our career."
The paintings on display at Citi are as diverse as the artists. Tibor Balogh captures the less famous buildings of Budapest, with light and shadow helping him show the feelings and emotions of the city in a montage format. In Kálmán Káli-Horváth's picture called "Look in my eyes!" a little boy is playing his violin. It conveys mildness and stubbornness, as well as vulnerability. Zsolt Vári brought paintings from his series entitled "Polyp". The face of "Greta, a small girl" is an iconic piece delivering the message that despite of difficulties, vulnerability and fear, one can always live with dignity. While most of the arts pieces of