Stars, horses and plaques, or what is an award worth if it goes to a museum?
Recognizing the Hungarian museum profession
MúzeumCafé 39.
Last year professional organisations and institutions nominated just four people for the Ferenc Móra Prize. The prize, awarded to museum professionals for their work in museums on 20 August each year, is the most important state distinction, so the lack of more candidates was a surprise. This raises the question as to whether the prestige of the award has suffered or there were no professionals whom public collection organisations and institutes regarded as deserving the nomination. Are awards that can be granted for museum staff or museums esteemed at all? An award is essentially a kind of communication channel. While an Olympic medal or a scientific innovation represent an obvious achievement, the professional performance of a museum as a whole is difficult to assess and the recognition as well as the reasoning behind it are not easy to communicate. The problem is most often caused by the fact that results are impossible to compare in most fields and thus several subjective elements, which are not acceptable for all, get involved in the selection of awardees. Hence there are hardly any awards or awardees in the cultural field backed by a broad social consensus. The large number of awards makes it simply impossible for a prize such as the Ferenc Móra Prize or the Ágnes Balázsy Prize, awarded for the protection of listed monuments, to be publicized widely. However, besides international awards, Hungarian prizes that can be achieved far more easily provide more opportunities for institutions. Below is a selection, without claiming to be comprehensive, of state and civic awards. Ferenc Móra Prize: Presented on 20 August each year to museologists whose professional career has been outstanding in their field and who have achieved results affecting the development and transformation of museology with their activity and initiatives. At most three prizes can be awarded annually. The financial reward with the prize amounts to the sum of twenty times the awardee’s salary. Péter Balassa Prize: Awarded for achievement in outstanding essay and study writing in the field of the arts (literature, theatre, music, fine arts and cinema). It is presented on the occasion of the Day of Hungarian Culture (22 January). The sum equals that of the Ferenc Móra Prize. Rudolf Balogh Prize: Awarded for outstanding activity in the fields of photographic art, photojournalism or specialist writing on photography, including museum photography. It is presented on 15 March. The sum is the same as in the case of the Móra Prize. Lajos Németh Prize: Also presented on 15 March for art historians, critics and curators showing exemplary activity in the field of contemporary art. The financial reward with the prize amounts to thirty times the awardee’s salary and it can be awarded to one specialist every year. Noémi Ferenczy Prize: A prize for artists in the field of applied arts, but restorers working in museums and restoring artists can also receive it as recognition for outstanding creative work. Five artists can be awarded on 15th March each year and the degree of the financial award equals thirty times the salary. Miklós Bánffy Prize: Employees in the field of culture including museums who have excelled in their job for at least 15 years can be awarded the prize. It is presented to three people on 15 March each year and the sum of the prize is the same as that of the Móra Prize. György Bessenyei Prize: Experts in the field of general education can receive the prize for outstanding activity. At most, five can be awarded and the sum equals that of the Móra Prize. Pro Cultura Hungarica Memorial Plaque: Presented to foreign citizens including Hungarian museum staff in neighbouring countries who have played an important role in introducing and spreading the values of Hungarian culture. It is presented to 35 people on one or more occasions a year. István Schönvisner Prize: This prize for archaeological heritage is awarded to one specialist annually, while the István Schönvisner Memorial Medal is presented to four specialists or organizations. Gyula Forster Memorial Medal: On the occasion of the Days of Cultural Heritage it is awarded to specialists and civil organisations who have played an important role in the interest of monument protection. Excellence in Museum Education: Awarded for initiatives in museum education pursued in practice at a high level on the occasion of the National Museum Education Opening the Year Ceremony. Support is provided by the National Cultural Fund. Museum of the Year: The award founded by the Pulszky Society in 1996 is presented for results achieved by a museum in the previous year. It is based on the analysis and comparison of institutions by a jury. It is awarded in two categories (small and large museums) on the occasion of the May Day Festival of Museums. Exhibition of the Year: This annual award, founded by the Pulszky Society in 2010, rewards the scientific approach, creativity and the ability to involve the public of an exhibition selected from the museums’ permanent or temporary exhibitions. Village Folk Museum of the Year: The Federation of Hungary’s Village Folk Museums invites submissions to award its members which have a licence to operate as a museum and who have performed in an outstanding manner. Ferenc Pulszky and Károly Pulszky Prizes: The Pulszky Society awards both prizes. The Ferenc Pulszky Prize is for an outstanding professional oeuvre, while the Károly Pulszky Prize is for experts under the age of 40 who have achieved significant results. Ágnes Balázsy Prize: Presented by the Artworks Protection Branch of the Pulszky Society for efforts in that field. Ildikó Poroszlai Memorial Plaque: The Small Museums’ Branch of the Pulszky Society awards it to a small museum whose work was most progressive in a given year. MúzeumCafé Prize: Presented annually to a museum specialist whose work has been progressive, new and modern in his or her professional field in accord with the spirit of the magazine. Museum Education Prize for Lifetime Achievement: Founded by the Skanzen (The Open-Air Museum of Ethnography) in 2013, it is awarded for the outstanding activity of specialists who have worked in the field of museum education for several decades. Imre Wellmann Memorial Plaque: Presented by the Society of Hungarian Museum Historians for outstanding achievement in the field of historical museology. László Réthy Medal and Szentgáli Medal: Awards of the Hungarian Numismatic Society. In addition to the above, people can be nominated for state awards such as the Kossuth and Széchenyi Prizes, the Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary, and the various grades of the Cross of Merit of the Hungarian Republic. There are also local, county and special professional prizes.