“We’re still planning lots of changes”
Péter Farbaky, new director general of the Budapest History Museum on its tasks and opportunities
MúzeumCafé 40.
The Budapest History Museum (BHM) comprises several rather different institutes, namely the Buda Castle Museum, the Aquincum Museum, the Kiscell Museum – housing the Local History Department and the Municipal Picture Gallery – and the Budapest Gallery. In addition, the BHM is tasked with organising archaeological excavations in the capital, as well as monitoring the city’s urban development. MúzeumCafé spoke to its new director since 1 January 2014, Péter Farbaky, about the future of the broad-based institute. Finance was discussed, as were international professional contacts and issues relating to the future of the former Royal Palace in Buda and in that connection whether there is a struggle between the architect, the monument preserver and the director. Péter Farbaky graduated from the Budapest University of Technology’s Department of Architecture in 1980 and gained a degree in art history in 1989. Initially he worked in the FIMÜV and continued this work after 1991 in the framework of the Hild-Ybl Foundation. From 2001 to 2013 he was director of the Kiscell Museum and deputy director of the BHM. His research field includes the art history of Budapest and the art of the Renaissance, Baroque and Eclectic periods, particularly their architecture. He is a twice-winner of the Andrea Palladio scholarship. Since 1999 he has taught at the Art History Institute of Loránd Eötvös University as a guest lecturer. He is the author of numerous art history and architectural studies and in 2012 was awarded the Ferenc Móra prize. The museum faces significant changes this year. The museum’s resources have been provided by the National Cultural Fund, with further support coming from the municipal authority.