Institutional Fictions – The Possibility Of An Art Faculty In Debrecen

2024. Sep. 26. - 2025. Jan. 26.

While one of the important tasks of MODEM Project Space is to provide young artists from Debrecen and abroad with an opportunity to display their work, it is equally important to provide space for interdisciplinary art projects that deal with the city as a cultural entity.

The latter includes Institutional Fictions, which invites visitors on a utopian journey, a kind of thought experiment, since its theme is the possibility of an art faculty in Debrecen.

In September 2023, in cooperation between MODEM and the Department of Architecture of the University of Debrecen, Master of Architecture students took a course on the question of in which area of the city and in what form could the building of the art faculty be built. One of the starting points for the project was the realisation that Hungary is a capital city-centric country in terms of cultural history. This is why it is worth paying more attention to the potential of art institutions outside the capital and, if possible, to develop them in order to create a more diverse system of contemporary art institutions in Hungary. We believe that the creation of a Debrecen art faculty would definitely strengthen the city’s socio-cultural position in the country and in the region.

In this context, we also considered it essential to interview professionals who actively shape the art life of Debrecen. The responses show that the question of the art faculty, which has been raised several times in the past decades, is still relevant today, and that it is therefore worth considering the possibilities for its implementation. Assessment of the possible gaps in the national and regional arts education network that such a faculty could potentially fill is would also be necessary.

Curators: Don Tamás, Szentirmai Tamás

Artists: Andirkó Máté Levente, Kerti Ábrahám Szilveszter, Tőtős Kriszta Edina, Kaponyás Klaudia Kármen, Illyés Anikó, Markos Zoltán Bence, Bodorkos Diána, Jakab Kincső, Garai Zsolt, Vékony Cintia Ágnes, Szilasi László, Tóth Marcell