Cseri Miklós: Néprajz és muzeológia, Tanulmányok a népi építészet és a múzeumi etnográfia köréből (Studia Folkloristica et Ethnographica 51. Debrecen ,Szentendre, Debreceni Egyetem Néprajzi Tanszék, 2009)

TELEPÜLÉS - ÉPÍTÉSZET - LAKÁSKULTÚRA - ETHNOGRAPHY AND MUSEOLOGY STUDIES IN FOLK ARCHITECTURE AND MUSEOLOGICAL ETHNOGRAPHY

AURÉL VAJK,AI AND THE LIVING HISTORY BUILDINGS "The main reason for establishing the open air museum is to present folk architecture and the folk lifestyle. This is why it is necessary for us to provide information on the practice of architecture in the given region or geographical area." (Aurél Vajkai, 1970.8.) When I decided to give diis presentation, I thought that it would be a ver)' easy task, as bis 4 leaflets and the significance of the present chain of living history buildings underlined almost in a stereotypical fashion the fact that Aurél Vajkai and the living history buildings, or the notion of open air museums, was at least as strong a presence in the history of our discipline as the research of architecture or even that of folk healing practices. Having taken a closer look, I believe that it is a situation of either-or, that is to say, perhaps it is not so obvious as I had previously thought. Concerning this issue, I wish to share a few of my thoughts with you, which are perhaps not so bombastically fresh or novel but they may be interesting from a particularly skansen-related aspect, and drey may add new dimensions to the general opinion we have about this great scholar. EXHIBITING AND PEDAGOGICAL PROGRAMS NEEDS AND POTENTIALS. THE FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS OF THE MUSEUM BOARD OF THE NATIONAL CULTURAL FOUNDATION PROGRAMME The Museum Board of the National Cultural Foundation Programme (NKA) was set up to subsidise the printing costs of periodicals, exhibition catalogues and any publications relevant to museum activities. Here are the most significant statistics and analyses on the publications in terms of the number of applications, the sums applied for and eventually granted. The conclusions of the analyses show that practically museum publications could not exist with-out the NKA funding and unfortunately some other fundamental maintenance activities have been subsidised by NKA grants, which reflects the miserable financial conditions in which Hungarian collections, especially minor, local, provincial ones have had to operate. Some major changes are due in 2003 in order to sustain the main function of the NKA to grant money for the implementation of the main tasks in a museum. THE ROLE AND POSSIBILITIES OF HUNGARIAN MUSEUMS IN INTERNATIONAL PROJECTS AND IN THE ICOM CONNECTIONS As it is also demonstrated by this conference - since it is not just a domestic but an international event - the Museum of Pécs and Baranya Megyei Múzeumok Igazgatósága [Directorate of Museums in Baranya County] have rather extensive international connections. Thanks to earlier cooperations, we are lucky to host German, Czech, Croatian, as well as Austrian colleagues at this conference. These connections were formed in an earlier system of contexts, either after or even before the shift from the former political regime, within the framework of a peculiar form of organization, called sister or twin counties, cities, and museums. Making international relations prosper became a prospering nationwide movement, owing to which remarkably useful and important professional and personal connections were born. In practice, this meant the beginning of a process of integration on the part of Hungarian museology into the international scene, which formerly used to be rather limited 407