To what extent did the political changes 25 years ago have a positive or a negative effect on museums in Hungary?
MúzeumCafé 45.
Mihály Praznovszky, literary historian, museum specialist, head of the Veszprém County Museum directorate director of the Petőfi Museum of Literature 1993–2000, thinks that today’s museum is no longer the museum of the past and he is not convinced that what has happened is all due to the political changes.
Jenő Darkó, historian, head of the Museum of Applied Arts’ records department
believes that the much condemned excess power of the state had a beneficial effect on museums. The 60s and 70s saw a second era of prosperity. The vehement legislative and amendment process following Law CXL of 1997 made it clear that cliques dominated the profession and the ministry was assisting that. It always opted for the weaker resistance and thus was popular.
Kóczián Erzsébet Szentpéteri, historian, a deputy director of the Transport Museum thinks that most of the participants, players or perhaps those responsible for the events have already died and the archives are badly organized or have disappeared, yet all colleagues of the time are agreed that industrial and technological history has never been favoured in the Hungarian museum world.
György Várkonyi, art historian, senior lecturer of the faculty of arts, Janus Pannonius University, the Janus Pannonius Museum’s deputy director believes the new law on local government resulted in developments which cannot be called positive for most museums. Changing proprietary rights, an almost arbitrary interpretation of the funder’s role, along with professional incompetence on the part of new political bodies resulted in distortions which were sources of troubles. There could be no doubt that a crisis had to be faced following the introduction of the new system.