Imre Kaján, President of the museum section of the Hungarian Cultural Fund
MúzeumCafé 13.
When the time to appoint a new president came last autumn, the head of the HCF, László Harsányi, called me and said he would recommend that I stay in charge of the section for another year. We found it very important that everything the museums hold would be presented to as large an audience as possible. For example, we introduced a rule that if an institution increased its collection with the financial support of the HFC the purchased object should feature on the museum’s website. We have introduced and monitor exhibitions online. As a condition of competition tenders, restoration documentation also has to be put on the museum’s website. We had the provincial museums’ periodicals – 1500 volumes – digitalised, thus now 350,000 pages can be accessed online. This year Budapest periodicals, those of specialist museums, as well as those issued by museums across the borders will be put on the net. The journals Museum News and Hungarian Museums have become electronic, thus they are available more rapidly and are up-to-date. The economic crisis has produced a new situation in the HFC. Last year was not really critical, since institutions received finances due to the Year of Renaissance. In 2005 our section had a budget of 250 million forints for free utilisation, which later increased to 300, then 350 million. In 2008 we again had a budget of 300 million but the first plans for 2009 involved a drastic decrease – 200 million forints. Ibolya Bereczki, deputy director of the Szentendre Open Air Museum, has been proposed and we are already working together. I think the balance of continuation and change must be created in the section. Ms Bereczki is an excellent organiser, a very good ethnographer and museologist. I am very happy to pass the baton to her.