A Herman Ottó Múzeum Évkönyve 45. (2006)

Pirint Andrea: Egy kiállítás-szervező viszontagságai a 20. század hajnalán - Balogh Bertalan és az 1906-os felvidéki vándorkiállítás

of the towns, which would hőst the exhibition, had discussed the details with the railway officials, who would supervise the transport of the artworks, as well as with the printers and the insurance company involved. He alsó compiled a "marketing plán", which covered the tiniest details and summarised his experience in this field. The first exhibition was assembled and launched in Autumn, 1906. The officials of the state institution undertook the task of collecting the artworks and organising their display at the venues. Everything else was left to the exhibition organiser, who liasoned with the various towns, the officials in Budapest and various other offices. Balogh travelled with the exhibition: he was present, when the artworks arrived and supervised the exhibition from its assembly to its dismantling. The exhibition's primary goal was to kindle the public's interest in the árts. Balogh resorted to many different forms of promotion. Posters, newspaper articles and streamers advertised the arrival and the opening of an exhibitions and he alsó took care that the opening be an outstanding event. As the financial manager of the exhibition, Balogh was alsó responsible for its budget. He wrote regular reports detailing the number of visitors, the number of sold catalogues and raffle tickets, the sold artworks and the costs of the hired hands during the assembly and the dismantling of an exhibition. He alsó had a üst of all the other costs ranging from the electricity bilis, transportation costs, the salary of the cashier and the cleaning ladies, the telephoné, cable and travel costs to the price of writing-paper, picture hangers and feather-dusters, as well as the costs of piacing posters, decoration work, restoration costs, and the fee of the orchestra designed to enhance the exhibition's popularity. It was Balogh's task to see that everything went smoothly. His duties included the sale of artworks, which could only be sold through him. He mediated between the artists and potential buyers through a series of cables. The artists alsó made a number of sometimes rather unusual requests. The travelling exhibition turnéd out to be a unique and highly successful event. It was the first truly successful event, which attempted to improve artistic taste in the provinces beyond the country's capital. Being the very first large-scale event of this type, the organiser had to cope with a series of formerly unencountered, complex problems: he was the financial manager, the art dealer, the PR manager and the handyman all in one. The skills of creating modern exhibitions were learnt with this event in Hungary. Andrea Pír int 384