Zsófia Frazon, museologist of MaDok, contemporary documentation and research network

MúzeumCafé 19.

The aim is the documentation of today, namely museum analysis in relation to manifestations of contemporary everyday life and the collection of relevant materials – thus spoke Zoltán Fejős, director of the Ethnography Museum, when MaDok was launched at 2002 conference in Kaposvár. Since then the MaDok project has moved beyond “the ethnographers’ sand-pit”. Tenders have been announced for research into the period since 1989-90, a data base of research results is continuously updated, every year new studies are published, films are produced and exhibitions held. The recent EtnoMobil – contemporary culture in movement campaign put research into a higher gear, with habits of urban travel in focus. “A survey of the collection in the Ethnographic Museum was completed more than ten years ago. This enabled us to basically uncover and appreciate the collections. One result was the idea that ethnography and the augmentation of collections shouldn’t just focus on the past but also open towards the present, pointing to the systematic analysis of contemporary culture. “Zoltán Fejős was my PhD tutor at Pécs University. Then the exhibition And Twelve Makes a Dozen – the Ethnography of Shopping was held in the framework of museum education. It began with a theoretical seminar, then we did field work at the Pécs market, but we also brought many items of personal use into the collection. The aim involved classical ethnographic themes and concepts, or rather comparing them with contemporary culture in a visual format. Our work had two aspects – to produce a methodology textbook and network building, convincing institutions to participate with research in the MaDok programme. “While establishing the network we didn’t receive any special support.”