The best Hungarian food and wine, as well as mineral water, will be presented in New York and Washington during the 2009 Hungarian Cultural Season, says Orsós, who was once one half of Hungary's best known pair of restaurant critics.
Contemporary Hungarian painting will also be shown in Washington under the motto "Extremely Hungary".
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Hungary's most famous alternative theatre troupe, the Krétakör, will not perform any of its legendary pieces, as planned, because of the company's recent transformation from a troupe into a workshop. But director Árpád Schilling already has new plans, says Orsós.
Though the Hungarian Cultural Season is concentrating on New York and Washington, Hungarian performers on the programme may find it advantageous to use the opportunity to perform in other big cities on the continent, in Los Angeles, Chicago or even in Canada, Orsós says. He concedes that the season's HUF 700 million budget is already stretched, but the institute can offer support to Hungarian artists who want to travel a larger circuit in the States through promotion, for example, on its webpage.
Even for the programmes that are a part of the cultural season, the money to buy a full-page ad in the New York Times is not available, says Orsós. But this isn't preventing the season's organisers from making full use of other promotional means to reach the press, the critics and the weekly programme magazines.
The institute is also using guerilla marketing techniques for some of its satellite programmes, such as the moustache competition.
The Hungarian Cultural Season's advisory body is providing much insight into the programme's planning, says Orsós. Ideas for the programme are being passed through the sociologist Ágnes Heller, and the economist Ferenc Karvalits is assisting with the business side of the season. The Hungarian cultural expert András Szántó, who lives in New York, has helped with the networking side of things.
Photo: Balassi Institute
