The House of Arts and Literature will ensure a home for professional writers. The institution also aims to present world literature to a broader audience.
It fits in well with the concept for Pécs's European Capital of Culture title in 2009, and it is a step toward decentralization. The house contributes to the development of cultural tourism and it serves an international as well as a regional function.
With the opening of the House of Arts and Literature, Jelenkor's writers, along with the journal's infrastructure will move into the House of Arts. The Jelenkor Foundation will also play an active role in creating the programme for the House of Literature.
The new institution will continue to operate with funding from the Baranya County Council.
The writer György Konrád and the poet László Bertók, who were both present at the signing of the document establishing the House of Arts and Literature, said that the new institution would contribute to Pécs's cultural atmosphere.
Péc's House of Arts, established twenty years ago, oragnises more than a hundred events each year.
Jelenkor, which will celebrate its 50th anniversary next year, provides one of the most important forums for contemporary Hungarian literature.
Source: Hungarian News Agency (MTI)
