Bereczki Ibolya - Cseri Miklós - Sári Zsolt: Ház és Ember, A Szabadtéri Néprajzi Múzeum évkönyve 27. (Szentendre, Szabadtéri Néprajzi Múzeum, 2015)

VASS ERIKA: Az algyői tájházi kiállítás megújításának módszertani tanulságai

Erika Vass

THE METHODOLOGY LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE RENEWAL OF THE EXHIBITION IN THE COUNTRY HOUSE MUSEUM OF ALGYŐ

In my study I deal with the process of completion of the country house museum of Algyő, which opened for the public in a renewed form in 2014. The museum won the award “Country House Museum of the Year” in 2015.

It was in 1965 that the exploration of Hungary’s biggest hydrocarbon deposits began in Algyő. The oil and gas extraction changed the landscape and the life of the local population. The exhibition presents the social changes occurred in the community as well as the modernization tendencies, focusing on two years: 1938 and 1978. Visitors get to know the two faces of the village: one is traditional and the other with urban characteristics. Furthermore, we highlighted the role of the river Tisza, emphasizing its destructive and constructive power. The visitor’s journey through time begins in the present and it goes back to the beginning of the 20th century.

We present the local people’s approach to life exploiting natural resources through maize, every part of which was utilized. We show our visitors practical examples which can be useful even nowadays. The interior evokes the 1970s and reminds some visitors to their childhood or youth and awakens memories. The youngest may think about their grandparents (like e.g. “My grandmother had the same furniture!”).

I described in the study the means and methods which can help the visitor to understand the exhibition and to get involved personally (archive photos, local dialect, music, films, questions, riddles and objects talking in the first person - instead of long texts).

At the end of the study I mention the sessions and programmes taking place in the country house museum, which confirm the important role the local museum plays in the life of the local community.

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