These are the best Hungarian museums and exhibitions in 2020

From contemporary art to folklore and archaeology, this year’s nominees for the Museum of the Year and Exhibition of the Year awards feature a wide spectrum of Hungarian culture and history, reports Sokszínű Vidék.

Every year, the Pulszky Society of the Hungarian Museum Association rewards Hungarian museums in the following categories: Museum of the Year, Exhibition of the Year, and Museum of Community. This time, the award ceremony was held on 9th October at the Hungarian National Museum.

This year, for the first time in the history of the awards, foreign museums with Hungary-themed collections could also apply or get nominated.

Museum of the Year

The prize was established in 1996 and recognises museums for their improvements or remarkable strategic results. Among the large museums, the winner is Ludwig Museum, a contemporary art museum in Budapest, while the best small museum is Jakab Bleyer Museum in Budaörs, with a traditional country house and a permanent exhibition on the settlement’s history.

Special prizes were given to the Katona József Museum in Kecskemét, featuring various collections on archaeology, history, and folklore, as well as to the Dornyay Béla Museum in Salgótarján, an institution that has a mining exhibition venue and a permanent exhibition on the history of Nógrád County, to name but a few.

Exhibition of the Year

This award, established in 2010, also had two categories. Among exhibitions with a historical cost above 2 million HUF (EUR 5,600), the winner is ‘Vízeum’ by the Danube Museum in Esztergom, an impressive collection on the history of water management, navigation, bathing, and so on. The best exhibition below this value is ‘Volt egyszer egy színház’ (Once upon a time there was a theatre) by the Museum of Bačka Topola in Vojvodina, Serbia.

Besides, certificates of merit were given to the ‘Mesetér-Látványtár’ interactive exhibition at the Open Air Museum (Skanzen) in Szenna, featuring over 200 objects connected to rural and agricultural activities, and to

‘CLARA – Klára Rotschild, Fashion Queen behind the Iron Curtain’, a temporary exhibition by the Hungarian National Museum.

Museum of Community

This award gives acknowledgement to museums for their community-building activities involving local people, civil society organisations, and other partners.

A total of 14 museums received this award this year, such as the Ludwig Museum and Deák 17 Youth Gallery in Budapest, the Royal Palace and Town Museum in Gödöllő, the Hungarian Open Air Museum in Szentendre, and the József Attila Museum in Makó.

Read also10 unique museums and exhibitions in Hungary

Source: sokszinuvidek.24.hu, magyarmuzeumok.hu