MODEM 20 – Selection from the MODEM Collection
2026. Mar. 15. - 2026. Nov. 08.
Founded in 2006, MODEM Centre for Modern and Contemporary Art is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, and the concept of the exhibition reflects this milestone. From the very beginning, MODEM has placed great importance on cooperation with cultural and educational actors in Debrecen, which is why we asked twenty partner institutions in Debrecen with whom we have worked over the past two decades to choose a work from our collection that is important to them and explain their choice in up to 1,500 characters. We felt it was important to preserve the diversity of the descriptions we received, as this clearly illustrates the different perspectives and individual preferences that can be inferred from the style of each text. We are using the anniversary in part to showcase Debrecen’s cultural diversity and to convey a kaleidoscopic view of the works in our collection through the perspectives of our partner institutions. By inviting our partners to select from our collection, we are continuing the practice we began with our joint educational project with the Ferenczy Museum Center in Szentendre, a series of exhibitions entitled Outstanding Objects – Our Contemporary Collection. Through this selection process, we are offering twenty co-authorship roles to our collaborators, which will allow us to learn about the relationship between the city’s educational and cultural actors and contemporary art through various narratives. Unlike traditional exhibitions representing museum collections, the second section of the exhibition also features works that are not part of MODEM’s collection. In this space, we have selected works by artists who are connected to MODEM in some way–for example, they have previously been featured in our exhibitions—but we have not yet had the opportunity to purchase their works. Due to the situation of the Hungarian fine arts institutional system, we had only negligible support from the National Cultural Fund (NKA) to expand the collection—and that was only made possible by our museum status in 2023—therefore most of the artworks in our collection were acquired from artists participating in the Debrecen Artist in Residence and through other artistic donations. Despite the limitations of the outlined possibilities for expanding the collection, our collection includes many pieces that have been an inspiration to our partner institutions, and we therefore hope that in the coming decades we will be able to continue working together to examine the city’s past, present, and future from a contemporary perspective.
Curator: Don Tamás
Artists: Balogh Kristóf József, Berhidi Mária, Birkás Ákos, Bögös Loránd, Bukta Imre, Centrala (Małgorzata Kuciewicz & Simone De Iacobis), Csizik Balázs, Daniel Godínez Nivón, Erhardt Miklós, Erményi Mátyás, Ganczaugh Miklós, Gerber Pál, Gosztola Kitti, Gróf Ferenc, Imreh Sándor, Kiss Richárd, Kortmann-Járay Katalin & Mendreczky Karina, Kristóf Gábor, Nagy Csilla, Oláh Norbert, Pacsika Rudolf, Pettendi-Szabó Péter, Société Réaliste, Rózsa Luca, Szabó Ádám, Szász Lilla, Szilágyi Lenke, Váczi Lilla, Vincze Ottó, Wiosna van Bon
Partners who have selected from the MODEM collection:
Alföld – Literary, Art and Critical Journal, Dr. János Áfra, Poet and Editor
Antal–Lusztig Collection, Dr. Péter Antal, Collector
Campus Festival, András Süli, Programme Director
Botanical Garden of the University of Debrecen, Dr. Attila Takács, Director
University of Debrecen, Faculty of Humanities, Institute of Hungarian Literature and Cultural Studies, Dr. Gergely Tamás Fazakas, Director of the Institute
University of Debrecen, Faculty of Humanities, Institute of Media and Library Studies, Department of Communication and Media Studies, Prof. Dr. Sándor Kálai, Head of Department
University of Debrecen, Faculty of Humanities, Centre for Arts, Dr. Zsigmond Lakó, Director
University of Debrecen, Faculty of Engineering, Department of Architecture, János Vági, DLA, Head of Department
University of Debrecen, Department of Sociology and Social Policy, Prof. Dr. Ibolya Czibere, Head of Department; Dr. Noémi Loncsák, Assistant Lecturer
Museum of the Reformed College of Debrecen, Dr. Dániel Veress, Museologist
Déri Museum, Anna Viola Szabó, Senior Museologist and Photography Historian
Kós Károly Secondary School of Arts and Student Residence, Margit Kozmáné Lőrincz, Deputy Director-General
KULTer.hu, Barnabás Pótor, Senior Contributor
Medgyessy Ferenc Secondary School, Secondary Vocational School of Arts and Technical School, János László, Deputy Director-General
Méliusz Juhász Péter Library, Dr. Béla Lóránt Kovács, Director
Vojtina Puppet Theatre, Terka Láposi, Director and Artistic Director
City of Debrecen, Dr. István Puskás, Deputy Mayor for Cultural Affairs
City of Debrecen, Dr. István Gábor, Chief Architect
Most Recent Recipient of the MODEM Award: Nóra Juhász, Visual Artist
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