Visitor friendly experiment by the Petőfi Museum of Literature
MúzeumCafé 7.
The exhibition was created in an Ikarus-260 coach and since June has been driven around the country. In 2008 the Museum is organising nearly a hundred functions supported by the Hungarian National Cultural Fund in connection with the literary journal Nyugat to mark the centenary of its launch. The Literature Museum regularly organises travelling exhibitions, some of which have been going round Hungary, indeed Europe, for years. Its Nyugat exhibition is only for 2008, though many places have indicated they would like to host it. Thus we had to find a rapidly movable, compact form which could flexibly adapt to local demand. Consequently, we decided to rent a bus. Following a long technical conversion, which severely tested the philologist-museologists, the installation was created. To make a decisive visual impact, the colours black, red and grey recalling the early covers of the journal designed by Elek Falus were chosen. The exterior, the internal frame and the seats are red, the floor covering black and the ceiling and panels grey. Nearly 300 photographs have been attached to the sides of the bus, thus the exhibition surface has been increased and those waiting can spend the time profitably. Panels which can be moved and turned have been designed for the small space. They introduce the most noted authors and editors of the journal’s first generation. The history of the publication can be followed chronologically. Colourful stories reflect the turn of the century’s animated coffee-house life, which played a considerable role in the history of Nyugat.