Re-elected Director of the Déri Museum János Angi said that 2019 was the most successful year for the Déri Museum in the last 5-year cycle, both in terms of visitor numbers and revenue.
In 2020 and 2021, the Déri Museum was partially open due to the pandemic, but the decline was not as great as in the museum sector in general.
One of the biggest achievements of the past five years was the settlement of the fate of Munkácsy’s Christ trilogy, the purchase of a third painting for Debrecen by the Hungarian state. “We have had temporary exhibitions in Hungary and abroad: we have had solo exhibitions in Berlin and Rome,” János Angi said.
At the end of March, a major Bronze Age exhibition entitled “The First Kings of Europe”will open at the Field Museum in Chicago, the world’s leading natural history museum, with a major contribution from the Debrecen institution. It is a huge building, and the entire façade will be covered with a poster for the exhibition. It is planned that besides the title, only one object will appear on the poster: the ornamental sword from their treasure of Hajdúsámson. Around two dozen countries and more than 30 museums have contributed their artifacts for this exhibition, showcasing south-eastern Europe’s most important Bronze Age treasures.
However, visitors to Debrecen don’t have to fly all the way to Chicago to enjoy a good exhibition, as the Déri Museum is currently hosting the “The Vikings in the Carpathian Basin ” exhibition. There are also accompanying programs 1-2 times a month on Saturdays.
He talked about the renewal of about two-thirds of their permanent exhibition on the city’s history. They have finished the building work, and the installation will soon start. The director hopes they can open this new exhibition before the Night of Museums.
