The founding institution, the Central Bank of Hungary
The Central Bank of Hungary’s efforts to promote the arts align with its social responsibility strategy. According to this, its task is to present and support the values of fine arts in Hungary and contemporary Hungarian artists to preserve and perpetuate the traditions of culture and art.
As part of this mission – and in line with international central banking practices – in recent years, it has established a collection of fine art through its subsidiary MNB-Ingatlan Kft., which now contains more than a thousand works of art, including pieces by such renowned artists as Judit Reigl, Simon Hantai, Ilona Keserü, Imre Bak.
The founding institution, the Central Bank of Hungary
The Central Bank of Hungary’s efforts to promote the arts align with its social responsibility strategy. According to this, its task is to present and support the values of fine arts in Hungary and contemporary Hungarian artists to preserve and perpetuate the traditions of culture and art.
As part of this mission – and in line with international central banking practices – in recent years, it has established a collection of fine art through its subsidiary MNB-Ingatlan Kft., which now contains more than a thousand works of art, including pieces by such renowned artists as Judit Reigl, Simon Hantai, Ilona Keserü, Imre Bak and Dezső Korniss.
Artworks in the Central Bank buildings
In line with the practices deployed in the case of the collections of international central banks and corporate institutions, a large part of the collection, nearly 800 works of art, was on display in the offices and common areas of the buildings used by the central bank. While in the Buda Centre of Central Bank of Hungary, typically figurative or calligraphic work was exhibited, in the Supervisory Centre (the former Postal Palace), the selection represented the work of the Neo-Avant-Garde generation and the tendencies of Geometric Abstraction.
However, the installation was dynamic, with works often relocated and rotated to be displayed in other exhibition spaces, allowing visitors to experience a broader range of works.
The procedure of collecting
The collection’s expansion has been guided by the suggestions of renowned art historians, including galleries dedicated to contemporary Hungarian artists, to ensure that a representative collection of artworks from contemporary Hungarian culture is preserved for posterity. The selection of works was initially proposed by Dr Julia Fabényi, art historian, Director of the Ludwig Museum – Museum of Contemporary Art, Budapest, Dr Katalin Keserü, Széchenyi Prize-winning art historian, full member of the Hungarian Academy of Arts and Professor Emeritus of the Institute of Art History at ELTE and Károli Gáspár University of the Reformed Church, and Dr Katalin Spengler, collector, art writer, editor art advisor, and founding member of Centre Pompidou International Circle Central European Committee as well as the Circle of Patrons of the Contemporary Collection of the Museum of Fine Arts – Hungarian National Gallery. Later on, besides Dr Julia Fabényi, Dr Zsolt Petrányi, art historian, Deputy Director of the Museum of Fine Arts – Hungarian National Gallery and Dr Gábor Rieder, art historian, were members of the advisory board.
Collection in the public eye
The aim of MNB Arts and Culture, which manages and takes care of the collection, was to make the collection accessible and meaningful to the public. The collection’s contemporary material was digitalised during the pandemic and made available to the public through our virtual platform.
In addition, over the past few years, MNB Arts and Culture has developed cooperation with domestic museums through the lending of artworks and has also created the opportunity to directly meet and connect with a wide audience by organizing temporary exhibitions, accompanying events, museum educational programs, and guided tours.