Treasure troves of architecture Saved archives, accessible and inaccessible collections author: HAMVAY PÉTER Even the most experienced researchers are at a loss when trying to decide which of the half a dozen public architectural archives they should visit to find the plans and documentation of the building they wish to explore. The list is long indeed. There are museums, archives, ministerial background institutions and collections at companies. Their […]
Building an archive The Venice Biennale in the Ludwig Museum author: BOROS GÉZA The Ludwig Museum has been responsible for organizing the participation of Hungary at the architecture and art exhibitions of the Venice Biennale since 2015. The national commissioner of the biennale is Júlia Fabényi, the museum’s director-general. The commissioner’s operative organisational unit is the Venice Biennale Office, whose setting up and management is entrusted to me. […]
Information compensation Possible ways of having access to state security data author: TÓTH ESZTER The Historical Archives of the State Security (ÁBTL) was founded as the legal successor of the Historical Office by the National Assembly of the Hungarian Republic to preserve the documents of the Hungarian State Security Service from 1944 and 1990. Besides its primary tasks (handling and classifying documents, providing access and availability for research), the […]
“The one who owns the spool, owns the film” In conversation with György Ráduly, director of the Hungarian National Film Archive author: KARÁCSONY ÁGNES The Hungarian film archive was founded in 1957, fifty-five years after the first Hungarian film, A táncz (The Dance), was made. For a long time it functioned as a place for storing films but now it is regarded as a facility where films need to be tended to: the film heritage should not only be […]
„Not designed to earn recognition for Aczél” In conversation with István Bánfalvi, President of the board of trustees managing György Aczél’s Manuscript Legacy author: GRÉCZI EMŐKE György Aczél, the central figure of the Kádár era’s cultural policy was a passionate collector and purchaser of manuscripts. The collection of tens of thousands of items, including Aczél’s liaison documents and private correspondence, is preserved and available for research in the Library of the HAS and its handling is assisted by a board of […]
“We thought young art historians would start flooding in” In conversation with Júlia Klaniczay about the Artpool living archives author: JANKÓ JUDIT Artpool Art Research Center, founded in 1979 by Júlia Klaniczay and György Galántai, has Central Europe’s largest collection of underground art with a reputation abroad. It operated illegally until the political changes in 1989 and as a pubic non-profit organisation from 1992. A part of the collection entered the Museum of Fine Arts – Hungarian […]
Museum studies old and new – education and research International overview author: Basics Beatrix In the 20th century, university courses in museum studies in Europe and overseas stressed practice rather than theory and trained professionals who later pursued traditional museum careers. This approach gradually changed and museum studies were included at all levels of university education and in a wide range of areas, while museums also came on board. […]
Italian artists in the Lederer collection author: JUHÁSZ SÁNDOR Well-known collector and arts writer Sándor Lederer (1854–1924) earned his degree in engineering at the technical university of Zurich but his interest soon turned to artworks, which he published numerous articles and essays on; he also regularly purchased paintings. When trying to take stock of the Italian works of his collection, we are in a […]
Dying aggregators and archives floating in the cloud author: Berényi Marianna Public collections and scientific projects are inconceivable without existing or planned digital databases. The dilemma whether online searchable archives are necessary or not is a thing of the past in scientific and public discourse alike. Over the last few decades, thousands of terabytes of public collection data have been added to the digital world daily […]
Invisible Collection The Hungarian Historical Gallery and Its Exhibitions author: Basics Beatrix In accordance with the monarch’s decision of 1 May 1884, Ágoston Trefort, Minister of Religion and Education, ordered the establishment of the Hungarian Historical Gallery, the first exhibition of which was organised in the halls on the south side of the Castle Garden Bazaar by Károly Pulszky and opened on 17 January 1886. Little is […]
