Prékopa Ágnes (szerk.): Ars Decorativa 32. (Budapest, 2018)
Zsuzsa MARGITTAL The Museum of Applied Arts in 2017
Collectors; Donors and Founders; Architecture; Design, Technology and Industry; The Exotic; The Great War. Magdolna Lichner, curator of the Archives, represented the Museum of Applied Arts in the selection of art objects. Ágnes Prékopa, head of the Library, held a lecture entitled ‘Institutions for the Education of Taste in Budapest: the Museum and School of Applied Arts’ at the workshop From London to Vienna and Central Europe: Museums of Art & Design in the Habsburg Empire held on 8-9 December 2017 in the Victoria & Albert Museum. Meanwhile, research needed for the complete reconstruction of the main building of the Museum also progressed. Along with the finalization of the architectural plans of the building, the complete survey and study of Ödön Lechner’s masterwork progressed. Research work and the conception of the restoration of architectural elements of the building and its decorations— ceramics, stucco, painting, stained glass, ironwork, etc.—was carried out with the help of restorers and external experts. International cooperation The museum management is participating in the work of the International Association of Applied Arts Museums (AAD Network). The association’s 2017 meetings were held in Weil am Rhein in February and in Paris in October. The museum is also involved in the work of other international professional organizations (ICOM, especially ICDAD, MUSCON—conference of traveling exhibitions). In 2017, at the Art Deco in Decorative Arts and Design Conference, held during the annual meeting of ICDAD (Miami, 29 November - 2 December 2017), Zsuzsanna Lovay, head of the Furniture Collection, held a lecture entitled ‘A Hungarian in America. Géza Maróti Rintel (1875-1941)’. Since 2016, the Museum of Applied Arts represents Budapest in the Réseau Art Nouveau Network, based in Brussels. The Network coordinates the research and promotion of the Art Nouveau heritage of important cities. Through membership in the Network, the Museum of Applied Arts can participate in various international events and applications for EU-grants. The Museum of Applied Arts is also participating in the project Protection and Promotion of Art Nouveau Heritage in the Danube Region (DTP 1-467-2.2), which runs from 2017 to 2019. The project is part of the Transnational Danube Cooperation Program. The Réseau Art Nouveau Network is an associated partner in the project, helping its European promotion. The entire project is coordinated by the local government of Oradea. Ten institutions from seven partner towns are involved, with the aim of calling attention to the region’s Art Nouveau architectural legacy and the importance of preserving and restoring it. The program has particular relevance for the Museum of Applied Arts, which is preparing for a large-scale reconstruction. Within the framework of the program, the Museum of Applied Arts has undertaken, among other things, to coordinate research on the restoration of decorative elements and to develop programs related to World Art Nouveau Day. In conjunction with this, several professional and promotional programs were organized in 2017 (World Art Nouveau Day, a restorers’ workshop, and an international conference and restoration workshop—see below, in the Events section, for details of the programs). 126
