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3rd International Artists’ Colony of Debrecen: Talking Animals
The basis for the connection of Debrecen to the progressive Europe of the age was created by the Reformed College, founded in 1538. The students of the College, who also studied especially at Dutch, Swiss and German Protestant sister institutions, maintained a living connection with Europe and its achievements, which in visual culture primarily manifested itself in book-making, illustrating and printing. The work and the traditions of the copperplate engraving students, which started in the 18th century, was subsequently continued by the Ady Society, the Debrecen Workshop of Graphic Arts, the Hungarian Association of Ex Libris Collectors and Graphics Lovers, as well as the Ajtósi Dürer Guild.
The working title of the 3rd International Artists’ Colony of Debrecen is “Talking Animals.” As also suggested by the title, the basic theme proposed is the relationship of humans and animals, which has a long and rich history of antecedents in illustrative arts.
By joining the European cultural programme initiated by the Strasbourg College of Applied Arts and the Municipal Library of Strasbourg, the artists’ colony intends to explore the past and present of illustrative and graphic arts, and its place in contemporary fine arts by way of its two-week resident programme and wealth of related events. It is our hope that the works of the artists invited from the cities participating in the programme (Strasbourg, Prague, Brno, Warsaw, Arad and Ruse) and from Hungarian settlements, as well as the lectures and other related events and programmes held during the artists’ colony will present the public with this real or assumed intertwining, highlighting a desired state of cohesion across disciplines of visual arts.
Orsolya Hegedüs, Ábel Kónya and Szabolcs Süli-Zakar