Debrecen’s museums have exciting exhibitions for art lovers in September. The genre palette is very diverse, with nature photographs, sculptures, illustrations, caricatures and archive documents on offer, while the themes range from generational differences to the Second World War.
Best of BILLUFEST
The highly successful illustration exhibition is now in its third year at the Bényi Gallery. In 2022, the best of the 2022 Anniversary Literary Figures competition was presented, and last year, inspired by this, a joint competition was announced for two literary figures of Debrecen, Mihály Csokonai Vitéz and Szilárd Borbély.
This year, for the first time, Debrecen residents are presented with the latest “best of” material, a representative selection of works from the third edition of the Budapest Illustration Festival (Billufest) in 2023. The exhibition showcases the best award-winning entries in three categories: adult and children’s literature illustrations, scientific illustrations and textless picture books (browsers, scrolls, silent books), as well as a selection of illustrations from the anniversary literary competition.
The exhibition is open free of charge until 19 September 2024 in the Bényi Gallery of the Kölcsey Centre.
Refik Anadol: Rumi Dreams
Refik Anadol is a star creator of contemporary art, ever-changing installations generated by artificial intelligence (AI), and for the first time he exhibits independently in our country. The Turkish digital/new media artist, based in Los Angeles since the early 2010s, is a pioneer of AI applications in art, a recipient of numerous international awards and a leading figure in contemporary visual arts. From airports to concert halls, from public spaces to world-renowned contemporary museums, his large-scale works have been exhibited in venues from Charlotte, North Carolina, to the Venice Biennale, Istanbul, Seoul and Melbourne, and around the globe. Istanbul-born, American-based artist Rumi Dreams, a large-scale, 32m2 LED wall video work by Istanbul-based artist Rumi, is on show at MODEM in memory of Mevlana Jallaludin Rumi, a poet, philosopher, scholar and Sufi mystic who lived in 13th century Anatolia.
The work is on display at MODEM until 29 September 2024.
More about the exhibition HERE.
Macropædia
Contemporary reading of the book
Makropædia is an attempt to provide a reflective overview of the role of the book in our culture by presenting cord documents and contemporary artworks borrowed from the collections of the Reformed College of Debrecen and the Alföldi Printing House. How has the book influenced science as a means of communication? How do we think about education now that textbooks are losing ground to smart devices? Can we preserve our book heritage in the age of digital humanities databases? MODEM’s joint exhibition with the Museum and Great Library of the Reformed College of Debrecen is a collection of 17th-18th century volumes, surviving artefacts from the College’s professors and contemporary artworks.
The exhibition is on display in the Great Library of the Reformed College of Debrecen until 2 November 2024.
More about the exhibition HERE.
Remembering the present – Mária Berhidi’s life exhibition
Mária Berhidi’s retrospective exhibition aims to reveal the full extent of the late artist’s somewhat hidden, at once sensitive and sensual conceptual-minimalist sculptural oeuvre, her personal and professional collaboration with fellow artists (Mariann Imre, Ilona Lovas, Kamilla Szíj, Erzsébet Vojnich), and her influential work as an art organizer. To evoke the latter, thirteen artists from his curatorial period at the Óbuda Society Gallery have been invited to participate in the exhibition. The exhibition Remembering the Present provides an overview of Mária Berhidi’s unique art and introduces the generation of co-creators and the intersections of her curatorial approach.
The exhibition is on view at MODEM until 11 November 2024.
More about the exhibition HERE.
Scorched city
Bombing of Debrecen 2 June 1944
On the 80th anniversary of the first bombing of Debrecen on 2 June 1944, the Déri Museum opened a new temporary exhibition entitled The Scorched City – The Bombing of Debrecen on 2 June 1944. The city, which had been spared the ravages of war until then, was shocked by the Allied air attack. The Déri Museum’s exhibition depicts this fateful day and the devastation, but also commemorates the rescue efforts, the victims and the hard work of the determined inhabitants of the town who made it livable again. The exhibition is made even more unforgettable by the words of László Timár, 93, who lived through the bombing with his family.
The exhibition is on display in the Zoltai Lajos Hall of the Déri Museum until 31 December 2024.
How old are you?
A generational approach to the MODEM public collection exhibition
How old are you? is an exhibition of the permanent collection of the MODEM Centre for Modern and Contemporary Art in Debrecen. The exhibition is based on the collection of the last 18 years, the results of the Debrecen International Artists’ Colony and the donations of artists, which is still constantly evolving. The collection was selected by the curator using the generational research approach and is presented in various artistic media in relation to the professional portfolio of the institution.
The exhibition is on view at MODEM until 31 December 2024.
More about the exhibition HERE.
