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The English adaptation is based on the original article published on dehir.hu.
The director of MODEM, Katalin Vizi, who enjoyed national recognition as an artistic director and collection coordinator, arrived in Debrecen with big plans. Since then, without exaggeration, she has been living her life at a constant high speed.
Dehir: You have managed MODEM’s work since July 1, 2021. How do you see these three and a half years?
Katalin Vizi: This period was significant. We had about 35 exhibitions, counting ten yearly, but even more with external events and programmes.
Dehir: What was the hardest thing about coming here?
Katalin Vizi: Experiencing how MODEM is not part of the urban fabric as a meeting point and a place to spend time. Although I had information about this, it wasn’t easy to experience. I approached it in a way that we could do differently to create a relevant, exciting, comfortable venue for the people of Debrecen and the people living here. This is a massive challenge for any institution dealing with contemporary art.
Dehir: Why was it hard?
Katalin Vizi: I could start with education because we all have experienced how much modern fine arts are not included in the everyday curriculum and how much the curriculum does not focus on visuality. If there is one thing that students are terrified of because the expectations are high, it is mathematics, not art history.
Dehir: Is it difficult to win from this situation if the visitors have no grip when they enter a contemporary exhibition, cannot read the works, and have no background information?
Katalin Vizi: Without these, they might not even enter an exhibition. Education is so frontal that there is little opportunity to formulate independent opinions. I know this sounds like a big generalisation. Still, I studied art history at university, for example, and there were hardly any tasks to analyse a work on my own from beginning to end, even though this would have been very relevant to the profession. Education is also the task of every cultural institution, and here, we should not think that the audience should be educated or trained but that, for example, in our case, the eye should be “trained” and cultivated.
Dehir: MODEM has just received serious recognition. Can you elaborate on this?
Katalin Vizi: AICA, the International Association of Art Critics, awarded MODEM the prize for the best solo exhibition of the year, which went to our 2024 exhibition “Remembering the Present: The Life Work of Mária Berhidi”. However, we have also received many other significant awards over the past three years, with five awards added to our portfolio last year alone. In terms of exhibitions, MODEM could be anywhere in the world.
Dehir: Besides the difficulties and tasks, can you tell us some pleasant experiences?
Katalin Vizi: Yes, there are many. The exhibition’s opening by István Tamus and Zoltán Fátyol is one of them. This was the exhibition in December 2023 where I felt that a kind of breakthrough had occurred from the local community, and for me, MODEM was indeed brought back into the city’s cultural life. It was also a great experience to organise the Debrecen Art Week last year with local artists, local art associations, societies, and 16-17 venues. Everyone was considered an equal partner, and we developed the program together. It was an excellent experience, and we wandered together from one event to another. It was a real, lovely celebration of local contemporary art.
Last year, this programme mostly moved the local art community. I hope that this year it will affect the artists and the interested public even more.
Dehir: You mentioned both the audience and the community. Does MODEM build both with its tools?
Katalin Vizi: Three and a half years may seem like a long time at first, but from that perspective, building a community is not a long-term investment. I have a fixed idea that neither an individual nor an institution can be successful without being considered essential and indispensable by their immediate environment or audience. I believe that as long as something is not a matter of the Debrecen community’s heart, we will not be able to achieve great success beyond national borders.
Dehir: Speaking of borders, how important do you think it is to foster external relations?
Katalin Vizi: For example, we try to invite foreign artists to our group exhibitions regularly. However, I could mention the exhibition of world-renowned media artist Anadol Refik, which opened last summer and received a lot of international press coverage. It is important for me that every year, a project is a joint effort of local institutions. We started, for example, with a joint exhibition based on the Déri Museum’s photo collection. The curator there selected photos of Debrecen, and our curator, Tamás Don, paired them with contemporary artists, and that’s how the exhibition material was born. Last year, we had a joint exhibition with the Reformed College Museum in the library called “Makropædia, a contemporary reading of the book”, where we presented the history and present of the book with contemporary reflections. Now, we are planning a similar collaboration with the Vojtina Puppet Theatre.
Dehir: Not only are you interested in culture as a director, but you also go to many events as a private person: exhibitions, theatre, cinema, concerts. Can you tell us about this?
Katalin Vizi: I like living in Debrecen, and it’s great to share in the successes of my colleagues or enjoy what they bring to the city as a cultural venue.
Dehir: How much can and should be planned in advance?
Katalin Vizi: The 2026 calendar is already roughly ready, with 2027 still mainly planned. But that’s also because it’s one thing to have a contemporary institution and another to have a thematic institution. We have to react very quickly to new trends, situations, and events, and that’s why I don’t think you can plan for 3-5 years in a fixed way.
We have the next year roughly planned, but the year after that is flexible so that we can be up-to-date. In addition to having a professional agenda, there is a call to action every year. 2022, my first full year, was the year of public speaking, when we set the goal to get MODEM talked about a lot. 2023 was the year we focused on authenticity; that year, we got our museum institutional designation. Last year was a year of internationalisation. One of our commitments was making the Debrecen International Artists’ Colony genuinely international, with artists from Mexico and Poland. For example, the language of communication was English, and many artists created works in pairs. This year, we also saw the work of the aforementioned Refik Anadol. This year is all about inclusivity.
Dehir: What does inclusivity mean for MODEM?
Katalin Vizi: We want our institution to be a pleasant place for people with special needs. In the exhibition spaces, easier-to-understand translations of the texts have appeared, we have guided tours with sign language interpreters, and we are introducing a quiet hour, which can be a safe environment for those who, for example, do not like loud music or the strong vibration of videos, intense sound and light effects.
Dehir: A new, large-scale exhibition is opening soon. What is “Origin” about, which also shows continuity since it has a prequel?
Katalin Vizi: The exhibition “Evangélium 21”, which I opened almost the day after I arrived in Debrecen, was based on material from the collector Levente Kovács, who invited 12 artists to reflect on the stories highlighted in the Gospel. This time, too, Levente Kovács has asked 12 artists, as 12 disciples, to present highlighted stories from the five books of Moses with the help of theologians. The exhibition takes us on a journey from creation to the promised land with the help of today’s artists and their works. I think this exhibition is a good example of how contemporary art can translate any event from the past into today’s language and make it relevant for people of today.
Dehir: The day before opening “Origin” there will also be a conference at MODEM. Are the two events related?
Katalin Vizi: In 2021, we started an exciting collaboration with the Méliusz Juhász Péter Library and at the library’s initiative. We organised an event called “NFT DEB Generative Dimensions Conference”, reflecting on the common ground between technology and art. In 2022, we explored similar themes, and in 2023, the theme was data visualisation, a joint stack of technology and art, with Moholy-Nagy University of the Arts as a collaborating partner. This year’s conference, called “Human 2.0 – The Aesthetics of Transhumanism”, is slightly different but also focused on technological development and pushes the boundaries of existence through the language of art, with the help of contemporary artists and thinkers who are explicitly concerned with the future of humanity.
Source and photo credit:dehir.hu
