Press Release 22/09/2005
Artpool Art Research Center is facing the most difficult period since its foundation.
After 25 years of existence Hungary’s only research venue of underground art might be closed down without immediate and substantial financial support!
The Artpool Archive was established upon a personal initiative in 1979. After more than ten years of illegal operation, upon the change in the political and economic system in Hungary it was finally opened to the general public under the name of Artpool Art Research Center with financial support received from the local government of Budapest.
Artpool Art Research Center today
Established in 1970, Artpool is the only continuously developing documentation centre and research venue in Hungary and one of the outstanding such institutions in the world dedicated to progressive, unofficial, underground Avant-garde Hungarian artistic aspirations and movements, holding more than 500,000 documents available for research.
Artpool’s public archive and library
We have more than 12,000 volumes of books and catalogues, 5,000 periodicals, 1,000 hours (c. 5,000 items) – mostly digitised – video documents, 2,000 – partly digitised – audio documents and 15,000 photographs/slides/negatives. Visitors to Artpool can research documents and find information about 6,200 artists, art groups and art institutions. Our continuously updated website has an average of 1,500 searches per day (40% within Hungary), and its web server (operating since 1995) has registered an average daily download of 130 MB.
Over the last 15 years, many exhibitions, art events, publications, television and radio broadcasts came into being thanks to Artpool Art Research Center’s archive, research made available on its web pages and the presentation of documents it preserves.
Internationally recognised and operating successfully for 15 years, in September 2005 Artpool was left without any funds to grant its continued operation.
We have no means to save, no further cuts to be made.
Unless we can get together 7.7 million forints, the entire operation of Artpool Art Research Center will be closed down in December 2005, its infrastructure will be liquidated, and its archive materials boxed up and deposited.
The wheels of time cannot be turned back. Artpool can no longer move back into the 1980s, when it operated illegally in the founders’ home. Immediate financial help is needed in order to maintain the availability of documents on the art and culture of the1970s and 1980s for research.
We are asking for help from every individual and institution that has a vested interest in saving the cultural treasure preserved in Artpool Art Research Center and the services its renders!
• Please help us overcome the severe problem of no funds and support us so that our operation can continue. Help us prevent the closing down of Artpool Art Research Center.
• Please help us to create the conditions that would grant the better and continued operation of the centre.
• Please help us find a way to guarantee Artpool’s operation in the long term.
Júlia Klaniczay
(manager)
Annamária Szőke, László Beke, György Galántai, Endre Szkárosi
(curatorial members of the Artpool Foundation)
Dóra Maurer, András Kovács, András Török
(members of Artpool’s Supervisory Committee)