The Silver Medalists

Exhibition of the Year 2011

On the occasion of the International Museum Day the winners of the Exhibition of the Year Award were named and given their prizes.

Cikk küldése

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The judging committee chose 5 exhibitions of all the applicants and emphasized their regard to all the museums taking part of this noble competition.

The first prize was awarded to the new permanent exhibition of the Petőfi Literary Museum. The show succeeded in presenting Sándor Petőfi’s oeuvre in a new and unorthodox way, putting his conscious character developing in the center, showing the versatility of the picture representations of the poet, the importance of all the talking relics connected to Petőfi’s personality.

Second prizes were not awarded on the Museum Day Festival however all the remaining four exhibitions were declared silver medalists.

The basic idea of the exhibition Mysteries From the Past – The Archaeological Treasures of Békés County by the Békés County Museum Directorate is extraordinary: not the finds: the uncovered treasures are put into the center but archeology itself, as a vocation. Visitors could easily imagine themselves as museum professionals working on some new group of objects in the sites. This exciting, real 21st century installation is completed with the traditional story telling – the objects and treasures are the bearer of their own story and thus their connection in the exhibition create a series of anecdotes.

Even more adventure is offered by the National Museum’s exhibition: László Teleki, Casualty of the Parliament – Pest Criminal Investigative Service, 1861. The narrative of Teleki’s suicide was not put in the context of an investigation because it is popular but because the logic of the events needed the process of perception – analysis -deduction, taking the visitors on a tour of real suspense and thrill.

Probably the biggest value of the Natural History Museum’s exhibition titled “Lost World – The Age of the Dinosaurs”, is that the creators did not fall into the trap of the popularity of the theme. Instead of exploiting the excitement that the sheer sizes or fangs and teeth and claws can provide they focused on the geological context.  Apart from the many clever ideas (like the bottled Dinos) the very concept is the main feature of the show: among the finds from the territory of Hungary several analogies are presented - fossils from the same period but different continents.

The Kiscelli Museum of the Budapest History Museum proved how important it is that values from the near past should be preserved.  The exhibition “Modern Apartment 1960 – The Experiment in Óbuda” gives an account of the architectural alteration of the 3rd district of Budapest. Only few know that the big housing estate construction of the socialist era put an end to a real intellectual experiment, a concept that tried to create spaces for comfortable housing environment – which was in a way a truly Hungarian model.

It is commonplace to state but is true nevertheless: the judges had a very difficult job even by choosing the five best exhibitions. The Exhibition of the Year Competition proved a successful one among museums – hopefully it will stay popular for a very long time!