Hungarian Applied Folk Art Museum

 

Permanent exhibition:

 

50 YEARS OF APPLIED FOLK ART
Artists – Artefacts – Processes

 

 

Temporary exhibitions:

 

„PALÓC” DOLLS’ CLOTHES

Costumes then and now

1 July 2011–4 September 2011

 

 

LINEN–POT
Presentation of the award-winning works of the
XVIII. National Pottery Competition
and the
XIX. National Folkweave Competition

14 October 2011–30 December 2011

 

 

 

Hungarian Heritage House – Hungarian Applied Folk Art Museum

1011 Budapest, Fő u. 6.

Opening hours: Tuesday–Friday 13.00–17.00

 

Preliminary registration for groups:

(06-1) 201-8734, muzeum@hagyomanyokhaza.hu

 

Admission fees: adult: 600 Ft, student/senior: 300 Ft

 

 

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The Development of  “Folk Applied Art”

 

In 1951, a means for organising and administrating Hungary’s artistic life emerged with the founding of the Folk Art Institute, directed by Jenő Széll, where departments of art, ethnography, and dance engaged in nurturing the new field of folk decorative arts produced by the amateur folk art movement.

In November of 1952, the beginning of a new age in the movement’s history was marked by a joint conference of the Hungarian Ethnographic Society and the Folk Art Institute in Győr.  Heading the list of motions passed by those in attendance was one mandating the establishment of organisations capable of supporting producing folk artists and the enactment of the legislation necessary to do so. Also linked to this conference are the introduction of the term “folk applied art,” the idea of creating a Folk Applied Arts Council, and the founding of the National Association of Cottage Industry and Folk Applied Art Cooperatives (in Hungarian:  Háziipari és Népi Iparművészeti Szövetkezetek Országos Szövetsége, or HISZÖV).  A further achievement of the age was the establishment of a “Master of Folk Art” title and monetary prize for outstanding creative work by a folk artist, backed by a special government decree.  First awarded on August 20, 1953, the prize has honoured nearly 400 individuals in various branches of the applied folk arts to date.  The institute also oversaw the inauguration of several national folk art competitions, including the Mezőkövesd national Bori Kis Jankó commemorative embroidery competition in 1963, the Siklós national Sebestyén Gerencsér commemorative potters’ competition in 1966, Szekszárd’s “Sárköz Prize” National Weavers’ Competition in 1967, and the Balatonlelle national Antal Kapoli Sr. commemorative woodcarvers’ competition, an event that is still held today.  Over the course of the past few decades, the organisation and administration of national competitions and conferences has been taken over by a number of other institutions, such as, the Folk Cultural Education (later the Hungarian Cultural Education) Institute, and – in the past 10 years – Heritage House and the Heves Folk Art Cooperative.

During the 1970s, Hungary’s urban youth – with considerable support from the scientific community  –  launched a new artistic undertaking known as the Táncház  (Dance Revival) Movement.  A product of Hungary’s “Nomadic Generation,”  this cultural process was accompanied by a handicrafts movement whose various endeavours extended to virtually every area of life.  Today, while still satisfying society’s need to create, construct, and shape environment, the movement also acts as formative community-building force, drawing inspiration not only from such traditions as foster awareness of society’s place in history, the world, and the local community, but also from the cultures of other peoples, and therefore encouraging tolerance and respect for foreign cultures, as well.  Such cultural processes must be regarded as the natural continuation of traditional Hungarian folk art, the result of fifty to sixty years of continuous change and development, shaped and made contemporary by factors that include the impulse to create, the social environment, and the scrutiny of the art community.

Today, at the beginning of the 21st century, “folk art” cannot be what it was centuries ago – or even, for that matter, just 50 years ago.  Social and economic circumstances have changed, and with them, human lifestyles, needs, and the factors that influence taste.  Both the producers and users of art have changed, to speak nothing of the materials employed in the creative process. The present exhibition salutes “applied folklorists” of all kinds, whether professionals, aspiring professionals, or everyday individuals with an appreciation for beauty and value, a respect for tradition, and the desire to keep it alive. The processes they represent will have particular significance in present century, as it is precisely the endeavours described above, coupled with language, that sustain both the personality, and the national/ethnic awareness of the individual in a changing, globalising world.