A Giant of Literature: Exhibiton Depicting the Work of Áron Tamási Opens in Budapest

An exhibition entitled Áron Tamási 125 opened on Monday in Budapest. A series of tableaux depicting the life’s work of the writer, who was born 125 years ago, can be seen on the Andrássy út side of the Hungarian Academy of Arts (MMA) office building.

János Árpád Potápi, Minister of State for National Policy of the Prime Minister’s Office, said at the opening of the fence exhibition related to the Áron Tamási Memorial Year, that the writer’s figure still binds the Hungarian nation together, and he is still one of the most widely read Hungarian authors.

The programs of the commemorative year will draw attention not only to Áron Tamási but also to the Hungarians of Transylvania and Szeklerland, he said.

The State Secretariat for National Policy has been organizing commemorative years since 2016, he said, stressing that this year’s commemorative year, launched on January 22nd, Hungarian Culture Day, in Marosvásárhely (Târgu Mureș), is one of the most valuable. In parallel, the series of events has also begun in Budapest, with a number of programs, including academic competitions.

He stressed that the aim was to attract as many children and young people as possible and to popularize the events of the commemorative year. We are talking about a popular writer, who in turn needs to be introduced to Hungarian society again and again because culture is something that needs to be learned, again and again, he emphasized.

He added that this is why the traveling exhibition was created, which has already been opened in Csíksomlyó, Farkaslaka, Sátoraljaújhely, Csíkcsomortán, Gyula, Mikháza, and Tusnádfürdő, and will be shown in many places – in the Carpathian Basin and in the diaspora – not only during the commemorative year, but also afterward.

Gábor Richly, Secretary General of the MMA, said that the life of Áron Tamási can be interpreted as a document of the 20th century. Starting from Szeklerland, traveling to America, and settling in Hungary, he worked tirelessly to build a bridge between Hungary, the Carpathian Basin, and the Hungarians of the world.

He added that the exhibition, organized in cooperation with the Áron Tamási Public Foundation and the House of Hungarian Heritage, presents some of the significant stages of the writer’s career, using numerous quotations and contemporary photographs.

He said that the MMA has also organized other cultural programs during the commemorative year. He recalled that in March, the Áron Tamási album, published by the MMA’s publishing house, was presented to the public in Farkaslaka, the writer’s home village, and in Kolozsvár (Cluj-Napoca).

As mentioned above, a book of studies by László Ablonczy on the theatrical performances of Tamási’s plays will be published under the title Áron Tamási’s Games of Fate (Tamási Áron sorsjátékai), a new edition of the Ábel trilogy with illustrations by the Transylvanian-born artist Zoltán Szilágyi Varga, and a portrait film In memoriam Tamási Áron. In cooperation with the Hungarian Writers’ Association, a competition for essays and short stories has just been launched, for which entries are welcome until September 30th, he added.

On the occasion of Áron Tamási’s birthday, a commemorative meeting of Áron Tamási will be held in Lakitelek on September 20th in cooperation with the Lakitelek People’s High School. The performance of the András Sütő Friendship Association entitled Wonderful World (Tündökletes világ) can be seen on September 27th at the Pesti Vigadó, and the Tamási Áron Cultural Association is organizing an autumn pilgrimage for their academics to Farkaslaka, he said, listing the programs of the commemorative year.

At the opening ceremony, the figure of Áron Tamási was recalled by writer László Fábián Vári, head of the Literary Section of the MMA.

The exhibition of 17 tableaux related to the life’s work of Áron Tamási (1897-1966) is on display until October.

Featured image via Tibor Illyés/MTI