Project Title: Tracing our common artistic heritage
Acronym: Art&Craft
Project ID: HUSRB/1602/31/0050
Total Project budget: 586 975 EUR
EU contribution (IPA): 498 928,75 EUR
Start Date: 25th June 2018
End Date: 24th February 2020
Lead Beneficiary: Calvinist Congregation of the New Church in Hódmezővásárhely
Beneficiary 1: Municipal Museum of Subotica
Contact information:Calvinist Congregation of the New Church in Hódmezővásárhely
Address: Kálvin square, 56800 Hódmezővásárhely, Hungary
Contact person: Ms. Major István Zoltánné
Email: cedrus62@gmail.com
Telefonszámok: +36 30 678 5423

Project summary:

Hódmezővásárhely and Subotica have an extremely great unexploited potential in heritage-related tourism. The two cities can use our project to become an integral part of the regional tourism sector, the basis for which is not only the development of tourist attractions but also the unification of communities and enhancement of civil activity.

The Calvinist Church regards community development, social renewal and the preservation of our cultural heritage as one of its fundamental missions. Our cultural traditions, most specifically art and folk art, reflect the values, world view of a particular society, gaining a great role in religion as well. Conveying of traditions have unfortunately taken a backseat nowadays, thus it is necessary to find and adapt new ways of conveyance, for which a cultural tourism offer provides a possibility.

The strongest link connecting Hódmezővásárhely and Szabadka is art, which boomed in the region during the 20th century. Pottery, as a traditional folk art craft and once famous all over Europe, is being forgotten nowadays, thus it does not have its right position in the regional tourism offer. The city aims to revive pottery, to which endeavour our project connects through the presentation of pottery and related traditions. Several artists from Hódmezővásárhely have played an important role in the art history of Subotica, the most famous of whom was the painter János Tornyai, who was connected with Sandor Olah, painter from Subotica. Tornyai and „Majolika“ pottery factory and their contemporaries who introduced themselves at the first arts and crafts exhibition of Subotica, making a great contribution to the cultural development of this city. This way they show that vasarhelyi pottery had a tradition in usage in Subotica.

Based on these ideas and connections, our aim is to reinforce the connection of the two cities to the regional heritage-related tourism offer, by art and folk art traditions and preserving the architectural heritage.