“Missed apology”
Ádám Galambos, Lutheran theology student, curator of the Imre Ámos and 20th-century contemporary arts exhibition series
MúzeumCafé 36.
To mark the 105th anniversary of the birth of Imre Ámos a travelling exhibition has been organised under the auspices of the Round-table Discussions Cultural Foundation. In addition to displaying works by Ámos, contemporary artists, writers, composers and musicians reflect with their own works on his life, his oeuvre and the Holocaust, which is directly linked with his tragic fate. The first location for the exhibition was Szentendre, one of the defining towns in Ámos’s life. Dunaszerdahely, Pécs and Berlin followed. The final location will be Budapest’s Rumbach Sebes-tyén Street Synagogue. Curator Ádám Galambos says the aim was to approach the theme in a holistic manner. The music, written texts and exhibited works can elicit quite different reactions on the part of the public. He is looking for the answer as to what kind of responsibility the contemporary arts accepts to address key issues. The exhibition has not been created on the basis of art historical perspectives. It addresses the mentality of responsibility which Ámos himself formulated. The variety of locations is also reflected in the exhibitions, and the works of art assume a different accent in different places. A certain “discomfort” should strike the visitor. Hungary has still not fully come to terms with the Holocaust. With their works, Hungary’s contemporary artists have voted for life. It would be good if this were the real image of Hungary, but only recently the statue of Raoul Wallenberg was defaced, as were Gyula Pauer’s shoes by the Danube. Ádám Galambos is currently studying at the University of Theology. Since 2007 he has been president of the Round-table Discussions Cultural Foundation’s board of trustees, and is the organiser of the Round-table Discussion’s series of debates.