Noémi Népessy, historian and museologist, director of the Óbuda Museum and Goldberger Textile Collection
Taking it to pieces, then rebuilding it
MúzeumCafé 40.
For the fourth time this January a jury of professionals commissioned by MúzeumCafé met to decide who would received the MúzeumCafé Award, founded in 2010, for last year’s outstanding museum-related achievement in Hungary. The jury voted to present the MúzeumCafé Award 2013 to Noémi Népessy, director of the Óbuda Museum and Goldberger Textile Collection. Noémi Népessy was born in Budapest in 1969. She graduated in history with a focus on museology from Miskolc University in 1998. For a while she worked in an art dealer’s in Budapest and at the end of 1999 she joined the staff of the Óbuda Museum, at the time still a local history collection. In 2001 she gained a diploma in cultural management at ELTE University and in 2006 she graduated in economics from the Budapest College of Management. From 2007 for one and a half years she was in charge of culture at the Óbuda-Békásmegyer Local Authority and she participated in developing the district’s cultural policy. In 2008 when the Óbuda Museum and the Platán Library merged, forming a new institution, she successfully applied for the position of museum professional director. She and her colleagues completely overhauled the institution, of which she was appointed director in 2012. Last year she also became director of the Goldberger Textile Collection, a subsidiary of the Óbuda Museum, and opened its new permanent exhibition in September. The jury deemed Noémi Népessy worthy of receiving the MúzeumCafé Award 2013 for establishing that museum and bringing it to life. The history of the Goldberger family and the factory they founded and made successful cannot be separated from the history of the district. However, there was a complicated period after the factory’s closure and in 1954 the textile collection had to be protected as technical relics. The professional collecting launched by the Technical and Scientific Association of the Textile Industry was aimed partly at finding old means of production, machinery and equipment and partly fabrics representing the development of the textile and clothing industry with the idea of establishing a Museum of the Textile and Clothing Industry. Initially, the museum was to be housed in the Zichy Mansion, but that idea was rejected since the building was deemed unsuitable. The unused Óbuda synagogue was the next planned location. Part of the collection was moved there and a temporary exhibition opened in 1972. However, it was not suitable for finally housing the museum due to it being a listed building. An empty building within a textile factory plant was offered by the Ministry of Light Industry in 1975, but due to lack of financing for the conversion the Museum of the Textile and Clothing Industry, initially operated by the Textile Research Institute and later the Innovatext Textile Research and Development Company, opened only in 1986. It was professionally supervised by the National Technical Museum. By the end of the 1980s the situation of Hungary’s textile companies was deteriorating and they could no longer contribute to running the museum. Innovatext rented out part of the museum building and thus covered its maintenance costs. Yet by 1991 that proved to be insufficient, so the building was sold and all the objects were put into storage again in 1992. At the same time the Textile Museum Founda-tion was set up with the aim of reopening the museum. It obtained the protected buildings of the Goldberger fac-to-ry in Óbuda for the new home of the Textile Museum. Its permanent exhibition opened in 1999 and several tem-porary exhibitions were also held. Lacking finances the funding body offered the collection and the building of the museum, which had operated under harsh conditions, to the 3rd District Local Authority, which agreed to run the museum and ensure the financial background. The Goldberger Textile Collection came into being on 1 January 2012 and it officially opened as a separate institutional unit of the Óbuda Museum in the renovated building of the former Textile Museum in September 2013. Thus a unique listed building of industrial history was rescued and visitors can now see a new exhibition which presents a very special collection in an exciting way. It provides museum education sessions and hosts a series of lectures by the Goldberger Workshop. Weaving and textile dyeing courses are organised, as are design fairs. An exciting, state-of-the-art, remarkable new museum has been established. It was primarily Noémi Népessy who carried out the work that lasted for years – but of course, not on her own. Thus MúzeumCafé believes that not only the staff of the Goldberger Textile Collection but also that of the Óbuda Mu-seum can be proud of her MúzeumCafé Award. And so can the 3rd District Local Authority, which supports the work of the institution and its director.