In view of the detailed plans of the winning designs for the new museum buildings, what kind of aspects still have to be considered in terms of special collections? MúzeumCafé 46. Péter Baki, art historian and director of the Hungarian Photography Museum, believes that in Hungary today there is not a single exhibition space devoted to photography where works on paper can be displayed with full safety. In whatever characteristic form photographs might appear, they have to be protected from environmental elements, and most of the […]
”Budapest appears on the map” Architects’ round-table discussion about the results so far of the Liget Project design competition MúzeumCafé 46. author: Gábor Martos At the end of last year an international jury announced the first four winners of the design competition for new museum buildings in Budapest’s City Park. The jury was not satisfied with plans for the fifth building, so a new contest was announced. The winning designs for four buildings and further awarded works were displayed […]
Social media as today’s folk art Zoltán Pallag, new social media manager at the King Saint Stephen Museum MúzeumCafé 45. author: Judit Jankó Zoltán Pallag is a poet, writer, student of archaeology, journalist, former editor of the literary journal Árgus, founder of the online literary paper kistango.hu, critic and initiator of sensitive interviews. He recently became the social media manager of the King Saint Stephen Museum in Székesfehérvár. It’s an exciting situation in terms of future possibilities. He […]
“It is a great collection for the world, too” István Matskási on the Museum of Natural History MúzeumCafé 45. author: Emőke Gréczi The Natural History Museum has experienced difficulties independently of eras and political changes. Nevertheless, it enjoys a well-deserved international professional reputation. There were both advantages and problems due to the fact that politicians never regarded the museum’s status as part of a strategic issue. The roles of scientist-director and manager-director were fortunately blended in István […]
“Our predecessors raised the bar high” Ildikó Ember and Júlia Tátrai on the Rembrandt exhibition in Budapest MúzeumCafé 45. author: Orsolya Radványi Prior to its renovation, the Museum of Fine Arts is bidding farewell for some time to the public with an exhibition recalling the history of the Dutch Golden Age, its customs and everyday life, and presenting masterpieces by Rembrandt, Vermeer and more than a hundred of their contemporaries. The major exhibition, which opened at the […]
An exhibition should tell stories Curator Pieter Roelofs on presenting the Dutch Golden Age MúzeumCafé 45. author: Péter Emőd Pieter Roelofs, curator of the Rijksmuseum’s collection of 17th-century painting, had time only for a flying visit to Budapest. Roelofs is a highly regarded expert. The largest and most important collection of paintings from the Dutch Golden Age has been committed to his care. Although he was extremely busy in the autumn – a large-scale […]
“… full of love for mankind…” The András Jósa Museum in Nyíregyháza MúzeumCafé 45. author: Beatrix Basics In the course of founding museums in Hungary during the 19th century the majority outside the capital followed the establishment of the National Museum a good half a century later. After the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 the process accelerated. This was connected with the new, favourable situation and with the fact that by then the […]
Thirty years on Museum spaces of the Kádár era in the 21st century MúzeumCafé 45. author: Marianna Berényi The Szombathely Art Gallery opened in 1985 in one of the nicest buildings of late modern Hungarian architecture designed by Lajos Mátis above the ancient Iseum ruins. The building of the Béla Dornyay Museum, housing a compilation of historical objects and documents, as well as art, literary historical and numismatic collections, opened in the bustling […]
The Florentine Time Machine The Museo Novecento MúzeumCafé 45. author: Ernő P. Szabó The Uffizi and the Pitti Palaces, the Bargello and the Accademia, the Museo dell Opera del Duomo and the Casa del Michelangelo all attract art lovers from across the world. Visitors willingly queue for hours to get into any of them and it can take days, even weeks just to get to know their treasures, […]
Museums, system, change Effects of the 1989–90 political changes on Hungarian museums MúzeumCafé 45. author: Emőke Gréczi Many readers, including the majority of Hungarian museum professionals, will have personal experience of the period under review. It is close enough to have direct knowledge, but distant enough to try to be objective. The effect of the political changes on museums can be approached from many angles and after much deliberation I have decided […]