Welcome František Balog, 2026 Fortunoff/ERIAC Fellowship

Please join us in welcoming František Balog as our 2026 Fortunoff/ERIAC Fellow.

​​​​​​​František Balog (born on 9 November 1972 in Prešov, Slovakia) is a Slovak theatre actor, playwright, director, and cultural leader whose work is dedicated to preserving and promoting Roma history and culture through contemporary theatre.

Raised in a children's home, where he spent 25 years of his life, this experience profoundly shaped his artistic vision. Before becoming a professional actor, he was widely known as a child singer in the renowned ensemble Slniečata.

He graduated from the Hotel Academy, the Roma Conservatory, and later earned a degree in Acting from the Academy of Performing Arts. He is the founder of Divadlo PárnoKalo Slovakia, the founder of the professional Actor Theatre Košice, and the founder and artistic director of the international theatre festival KHETANE – Together.

Since 2016, he has worked extensively with Roma children and young people through theatre workshops, educational programmes, and community-based cultural initiatives.

He is the author and performer of the acclaimed autobiographical monodrama From the Cradle to the Majority (Róm z perinky / Enter the Majority), inspired by his own life story. The production has been performed more than 126 times in Slovakia and abroad and has received several prestigious awards, including Best Male Actor, Best Performance, and awards recognising its outstanding contribution to Roma culture and intercultural dialogue.

František Balog is also the author of the successful monodrama Goodbye, Birkenau, which focuses on the history and memory of the Roma Holocaust. Through authentic stories and contemporary theatre, the production commemorates the fate of Roma victims of Nazism while encouraging reflection on historical memory, human dignity, justice, and the importance of remembrance.

Through his artistic work, František Balog combines documentary research, personal experience, and contemporary theatre to preserve memory, challenge prejudice, and create meaningful dialogue about Roma identity, human rights, and social inclusion.