The Museum of Ethnography's Largest and Most Comprehensive Collection Exhibition is Already Under Construction

The Museum of Ethnography's forthcoming collection exhibition will display a greater volume of its collection than ever before. In the 3000 square meter exhibition space, which will open in the fall, visitors will encounter almost 3,000 artifacts. Since the opening of the new building in 2022, it has attracted over half a million visitors to its modern facilities, made possible through the Liget project catering to the needs of 21st-century professionals and visitors alike. The creation of this new exhibition, showcasing ethnographic materials from Hungary and abroad, will necessitate adjustments to the museum's public spaces. Consequently, the Museum of Ethnography will temporarily close at the end of June and reopen in early autumn, offering visitors the opportunity to explore the new exhibition and renovated spaces.

The Museum of Ethnography's new permanent collection exhibition presents Hungarian and international materials on an area nearly three times larger than the previous space at Kossuth Square. This large-scale exhibition, divided into eight thematic sections, delves into historically evolving perspectives. Rather than telling a singular narrative, the exhibition allows visitors to explore Hungarian traditions and the cultures of other peoples through various themes. The presentation also emphasizes the life stories of the artifacts, the fieldwork conducted by specialists, the museum's history, folk art, and offers insights into the relationship between art and ethnography, research of early Hungarian histories, and the concept of heritage. In addition to grand spaces adorned with new colors and materials, visitors will encounter spectacular installations and artifacts related to the new exhibition throughout the whole building. To accommodate these changes, the Museum will temporarily close its doors from the end of June until early fall. However, during this period, the building's popular rooftop garden, conference room, and restaurant will remain open to the public. Furthermore, the Museum of Ethnography's exhibitions, educational programs, and professional projects will be accessible to the public at festivals, in various rural venues as part of the Petőfi Cultural Program, and in major cities abroad.

At the press tour of the exhibition under construction, László Baán, Ministerial Commissioner of the Liget Budapest project, emphasized that the revitalization of the park's cultural network entails not only the construction of new buildings and the renovation of old ones, but also the presentation of our preserved cultural heritage. The goal is to establish visitor-friendly institutions that communicate in a 21st-century language and appeal to new target groups. Over the past two years, the institutions created and renovated by the project - the Museum of Ethnography, the Museum of Fine Arts, House of Music Hungary, and the House of the Hungarian Millenium - have collectively attracted almost 3 million visitors.

Lajos Kemecsi, the Director General of the Museum of Ethnography, emphasized that the institution's collection exhibition will offer a larger portion than ever before of Hungarian, Carpathian Basin, and international artifacts for visitors to explore. The museum staff have been working on this for 8 years. The complexity of the task is evident in the exhibition preparation area, where objects awaiting installation arrive. Despite the thorough preparation of artifacts by museum curators, restorers, and cataloging specialists in recent years and months the process can take several hours or even an entire day for each artifact. The current exhibition preparation area is located in a temporary exhibition space, from where the objects can be safely transferred to the last space of the permanent exhibition without any contact with visitors. In this final exhibition unit, which can still be arranged while the museum is open, the concept and theme of Heritage will take center stage.

The questions raised by the final section of the ongoing exhibition, presented during the press tour, will not mark a definitive end to the exhibition but rather serve as a stimulus for further reflection and dialogue for visitors. The artifacts are used to reflect on the problem that discusses who the true heir to the museum's cultural heritage is and how we, as visitors and researchers, can relate to the material relics and information preserved by communities in distant places and other periods. The museum is not merely a custodian or repository of heritage; the creation and transformation of collections are part of the complex and troubled history of cultural heritage.

The Heritage theme begins with the Busó-parade, representing layers of celebration and ritual: here, a complete Busó costume embodies this idea as a central point. The concept of heritage is illustrated by a Székely costume and a wedding dress from Lueta, Romania, while the changing and permanent nature of heritage elements is highlighted by the Matyó aprons.

The protection of tangible and intangible heritage can be experienced through cases such as the malangan masks of the Oceanian peoples or fishing practices in the lower stretch of the Hungarian Danube. Additionally, the exhibition delves into the relationship between the culture of communities and their natural environment through archival films showing the way of life of shepherds on the Hortobágy plains in Hungary or the collection of brooms in the Azerbaijani countryside.

Benedek Gyorgyevics, CEO of Városliget Zrt., emphasized that the nearly two years since the opening of the Museum of Ethnography have confirmed its status as one of the world's premier public buildings, recognized for its exceptional design. "This is evidenced not only by the numerous prestigious awards the museum has received, but also by the positive feedback from the public, who bring the building to life each day," he said. "We are delighted that the museum, as an iconic architectural masterpiece, along with its European-standard exhibitions, has already attracted over half a million visitors." Summarizing the results so far, the CEO added, "The new collections exhibition will elevate the visitor experience to a new level. I can confidently say that this fall, visitors will encounter one of the leading ethnographic exhibitions on the continent. With such a rich collection and innovative presentation, it will be a destination worth visiting not only for locals from Győr or Debrecen, but also for culture-loving tourists from Barcelona to Glasgow.”

24 April 2024, Budapest