The museum holds a mirror to itself Concept of the exhibition at the Ludwig Museum of Contemporary Art MúzeumCafé 25. author: Katalin Székely, art historian, exhibition curator The Ludwig Museum opened its first permanent exhibition 20 years ago, at the time under the auspices of the Hungarian National Gallery. It was Peter and Irene Ludwig who donated or placed the starting collection on long-term deposit. The exhibition Site Inspection was conceived by the museum curators – Barnabás Bencsik, Nikolett Erőss, Kati Simon, […]
Are county museum organisations functioning well, or should they be reorganised? MúzeumCafé 25. Ágnes Limbacherné Lengyel, ethnographer, director of the Palóc Museum, Balassagyarmat: The present county museums were established mainly from the 50s to the 70s during the years of socialism. There was another rush to set up museums in the decade after the political changes of 1989. However, institutions which were founded then did not become parts […]
The sentinels of Hungarian culture abroad How do Hungarian Institutes abroad reflect the country’s culture? MúzeumCafé 25. author: Emőke Gréczi Reviewing the work of the 19 Hungarian Cultural Institutes is no easy task, since apart from their maintenance and principles there are few points of comparison between them. Perhaps it’s to be expected that these centres have different kinds of effectiveness given their rather different circumstances and that the picture of Hungary differs in diverse […]
Forgotten Szentendre Restorer Krisztina Lővei and art collector János S. Nagy on the town and its art MúzeumCafé 43. author: Judit Jankó The couple do a lot for Szent-endre, the town of artists – Krisztina Lővei, who restores paintings for the Ferenczy Museum, and her husband János S. Nagy, a pharmaceuticals researcher, chemist and, incidentally, art collector. Theirs is the broadest collection on the theme of Szent-endre and without them no exhibition could be organised about the […]
From the Paris of the Hungarian Great Plain to New York and back Imre Nagy, art historian, director of the János Tornyai Museum in Hódmezővásárhely MúzeumCafé 43. author: Éva Marton In the late 1990s he left Hódmezővásárhely for Szeged for ten years, then returned in 2007, since when he has headed the János Tornyai Museum and Education Centre. This year his directorship was extended for a further five years. In recent times the museum has witnessed many changes. It has grown with the addition of […]
From the Duchess of Kent to the Demény fraction Photo historian Ilona Stemlerné Balog on the formation of the National Museum’s Historical Photographic Collection MúzeumCafé 43. author: Emőke Gréczi In Hungary collecting and analysing historical photographs have borne a burden of the past since they used to be considered part of the domain of the Labour Movement Museum. Since her university days, Ilona Stemlerné Balog has worked with one collection, which she headed for 20 years. It has had a variety of names and […]
No one knows what the situation will be five years from now A discussion with Wim Pijbes, director of the Rijksmuseum MúzeumCafé 43. author: Gellért Rajcsányi “You start a project now, planning for five years, but no one knows what the situation will be in 2020. You have to imagine what the future will bring.” So says Wim Pijbes, director of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam and co-chair of the architectural jury for Liget Budapest. The Dutch art historian knows his subject. […]
Memorial house for the painter of hope The Pál C. Molnár Private Museum, a bridge between past and future MúzeumCafé 43. author: Nóra Vágvölgyi Busi “For me painting means sensual pleasure. To live is only worthwhile as long as I can paint. I could paint for the next 100 years, but that will not happen. Life is short, while art is eternal.” Thus Pál C. Molnár described his relationship to the arts. It is this passion and attraction to beauty […]
A comprehensive, ‘regional’ cultural institute which crosses borders The István Türr Museum in Baja MúzeumCafé 43. author: Beatrix Basics Until 2013 the István Türr Museum in Baja was a branch institute of the Bács-Kiskun county museum organisation, although its regional relations connected it to other places. As highlighted by the museum’s director, the nearest large town is Subotica in Serbia, where people often go and with which professional relations are maintained. On its website […]
A genuine museum brand in Transylvania The Brukenthal Museum in Sibiu MúzeumCafé 43. author: Ernő P. Szabó Tumultuous scenes were witnessed in the summer in the main square of Sibiu where the exhibition Salvador Dalí – Divina Commedia at ‘the Brukenthal’, one of the region’s most renowned museums, simply intensified the atmosphere. The high point was 26 July, the birthday of Samuel von Brukenthal (1721–1803) when, apart from the Dali display, visitors […]