Interview with Péter Deme, President of the Pulszky Society
MúzeumCafé 27.
The Pulszky Society – Association of Hungarian Museums, is Hungary’s largest (in terms of membership) museum profession NGO. Its president, Péter Deme, regards keeping museums alive and developing, as well as cooperating with the ministry as the organisation’s most important tasks. In Hungary today there are four large organisations which provide professional representation for employees working in museums or similar institutions. Of these the Pulszky Society is the largest with a mostly individual membership, although it is also open to institutional affiliates. Another body is ICOM Hungary – National Committee which, although being older, in the pre-1989 period had appointed rather than genuine members. However, since then it has experienced significant development. The third organisation is the Federation of County Museum Directorates, which includes the 19 directors of the county museum bodies. The Federation of National Public Collections is the fourth organisation. Its members comprise the managers of these public collections. Asked about achievements, the president of the Pulszky Society mentions the Museum of the Year award, which was launched in 1996 simultaneously with the May Festival of Museums. The society is anticipating similar success from the Exhibition of the Year prize, which was first awarded last year under the patronage of the Paks Nuclear Power Plant. When judging applications for awards the relevant committee has always taken into account what museums try to conceal. Thus for years the committee has had a member who goes to museums not in an official capacity, but as an ordinary visitor. “It’s usually quite informative,” says Péter Deme smiling. “One of the best stories was when a colleague of ours visited a small museum. He was the only visitor he had to clean up the place before the members of the jury arrived!”