 |
What do you think is the connection between your appointment and the prize?
The prize has nothing to do with my appointment. The justification reads: in recognition of his scientific activities and for the organisation of the internationally successful exhibition Art and Culture in the Age of Sigismund of Luxemburg and its catalogue. The exhibition opened at the Museum of Fine Arts in 2006 but we had worked on it since 2003. It was a lengthy period of planning and perhaps one of the most meticulous such efforts in Hungarian museum history. It had a big budget and resulted in an exhibition that attracted hundreds of thousands, not only in Budapest but also in Luxembourg. Luxembourg considered it important to present a member of this renowned medieval dynasty which bears the country?s name. The 800-page catalogue was printed in three languages, Hungarian, German and French, the latter two on request by our partners in Luxembourg. It was edited in Budapest and printed by a German publisher.
How was the exhibition received in Luxembourg?
The grand-duke of Luxembourg and the Hungarian president were the two chief patrons and they opened the exhibition. It drew a great number of visitors and very significant press coverage. It has been described as a European-class show that is far more than an effort of cultural diplomacy. It has been the source of professional papers even years later. And positive reviews everywhere.
Let?s look at the future now. What plans do you have for the museum in the next five years? We know that refurbishment must start without delay because it?s long been overdue. The façade facing Üllői Street has become dangerous since late winter when cracks appeared in the lantern supporting structures 11 metres up on the roof.
We are planning more than simple refurbishment: we want to carry out a complex museum development project, which can become exemplary in Hungary. We have prepared a museology concept that will function as a starting point for the architectural revamp project and includes a programme for the tender application. An important part of this is the organisational modernisation of the museum and the restructuring of events. We submitted this concept to the ministry in March and were promised that a government decision would be taken soon. Considering that the building is still in dangerous condition, the decision cannot be delayed long.
How long do you expect the entire programme to take?
We cannot see the end yet. If things get going, construction can be started in two years at the earliest because bids need to be invited for a design in a public procurement process. But unavoidable restoration works can be started in the meantime and we can plan the permanent exhibitions. All exhibitions from recent years that showcased some of our collection, starting with Turkish rugs and running to Esterházy treasures and Secession glasses, offer a taste of what we are planning to display in a large permanent exhibition. Together with temporary displays and the historical furniture exhibition of the Nagytétény Castle Museum, our planned offer will bring at least one extra guest night to Budapest, borrowing an expression from the tourism trade, which can be a significant economic achievement.
What will be the first steps?
Before the refurbishment of the museum, we must finish the modernisation project at the Nagytétény Castle Museum which also belongs to us and which will house the furniture collection currently in our warehouses, as well as the furniture restoration workshop. The furniture collection will be available as a whole at one location and space will be freed up at the other locations.
A few years ago there was a plan to build a glass roof above the inner yard.
That?s still part of our plan, to have a new space for a museum shop, cafeteria and gallery. And we want to turn the external yard into a park, with some art objects displayed, some resting areas and a terrace for the restaurant. The second entrance of the building will open there, which is expected to respond to the rhythm of the city. This entrance will stay open even after the museum closes and the densely populated neighbourhood will therefore get a new park.
This will also change the relationship between the city and the museum, making them much more intensely and continually linked.
That?s exactly our plan and to some extent we also want to be connected to the lively atmosphere of Ráday Street, as far as the museum?s character allows this.
Do the plans involve expansion?
Yes, they do. In 1896 when the building opened, one part was left unfinished due to lack of time and finances. This is a rather large piece of land. We want to erect a building with a contemporary character here which will also expand the museum?s functions. On the ground floor of the new building, on an area of 1,300 square metres, we want to display our East Asian collection in a modern museum space. The other plan, which will result in an even greater novelty, is to set up a Design Museum which currently does not exist in Hungary. Throughout Western Europe, they have successfully achieved displaying design in a museum setting, but not in Hungary. The new building will present an exhibition and documentation that gives an overview of the history of design, its present and future. The lower level of the new building will include an underground car park and the mechanical engineering facilities, and the ground floor will include a new library and archives that will function as a research centre accessible through a separate entrance.
Which Hungarian and international institutions are planning to cooperate?
We would like to help and organise joint events with the Textile Museum of Óbuda. The first serious cooperation project that we?ll most probably have is the digitalisation of our collections. We also want to initiate joint programmes with our partner institute in Vienna, the MAK. We have established links with the museums of Prague, Brno and Zagreb. A large Polish design programme is planned for the autumn, on the occasion of the Polish presidency of the European Union. A real Central European museum cooperation network is taking shape in which Budapest can play an important role. Our closest partner in Hungary is MOME since we are like twin institutions: the museum of applied arts and the school have developed concurrently within the building. The Kinizsi Street wing of our building is mainly used by them. Unfortunately, it is in a catastrophic state. But plans have already been drawn up for a new building to house workshops in an area they occupy at Zugligeti Road. This will be hopefully built in the near future and so this wing of our building will be freed up. It is a great dream of ours to organise the museum?s own school which would be neither a university, nor a college, but rather a free university or free school. We ambitiously think of the École de Louvre in Paris as an example. We are planning to expand the museum?s services for the city?s residents, offering knowledge transfer, handcrafts and training courses. It would be good to bring back and make popular some handcrafts that are on the verge of extinction.
Let?s return for a moment to the nearer future: one of your planned exhibitions will be cancelled this year.
Unfortunately, the lack of resources and to some extent insufficient preparations have forced us to postpone an exhibition about Ödön Lechner and Gyula Jungfer. But we will certainly have them at a later date, perhaps not at the same time. We are planning to set up a permanent display about Lechner, the architect of our building, in the space of the dome. This will function as a central point of a planned Secession tour of the city. Jungfer and the works of his workshop will be included in a series that is to present such famous Hungarian brands as Zsolnay and Herendi.
You seem to talk about these plans so cheerfully that I must ask: what makes you such an optimist? You are outlining a fantastic modernisation plan during a time of recession, an institution that has not existed before, a museum of applied arts that turns to audiences, is proud of its achievements and wants to carry out a world-class programme.
Perhaps it is because of my nature. I am convinced that we must always prepare for tomorrow. Perhaps this attitude is part of our traditions. The present, how shall I put it, is always problematic.
In addition, you also have great confidence in your audiences, considering that instead of setting out to meet their demands, you plan to get visitors grow accustomed to an experience of higher quality.
Fortunately, the number of visitors has been continually increasing. Of course, it?s possible to offer more popular and less demanding intellectual fodder and also fresh and crunchy delicacy. Fortunately, I can witness that there is serious demand for the latter in our society.
Author: Eszter Götz / Photo: Bence Kovács
