Hamza Museum

The Hamza Museum, a public-interest museum institution, was organized from the visual arts donation that painter and film director Akos Hamza D. (1903–1993) gave to the city of Jászberény and the Jászság in 1987, and which contains a very significant part of his artistic oeuvre.

Background

Akos Hamza D.'s oeuvre was created far from Hungary, in Paris and then in São Paulo, Brazil. After a 36‑year stay in Brazil, he returned home in 1989. Hamza's grandfather, Pál Hamza, was a folk teacher in Jászberény, so the painter spent his childhood summers in that city. This attachment led him to choose Jászberény as his final residence, where he lived until his death in 1993.

Following the 1987 donation, the collection entered the Jász Museum and remained there until, at Hamza D. Akos's explicit request, it was transferred in December 1991 to the residential building at 7 Gyöngyösi Road. Later this building became not only the home of the painter's oeuvre but of the entire estate. Today visitors can see in three rooms a permanent exhibition of a selection representing Akos Hamza D.'s painting – about 35 paintings, 9 small wooden plastiques and some personal items. Also transferred to the city's ownership with the Hamza estate are several hundred fashion designs by Mária Lehel Hamza. Exhibition material from this collection is placed in the fourth room.

Due to the limited exhibition space, the permanent exhibition lacks a presentation of film director Ákos Hamza D.'s work, although he is considered a successful and recognized director of the 1930–40s in Hungarian film history. The collection holds numerous documents on this matter. To fill this gap, the museum has published – in cooperation with the Hungarian Film Archive – the volume *Pictures in Black and White*, which is actually a filmography prepared with scientific intent, encompassing all available data on Hamza's film activity and containing Hamza's personal bibliography.

The Beginnings: The Hamza Museum Foundation

Through the Hamza estate, the museum's collection acquired several artworks and numerous documents of Lehel Mária Hamza's parents – painter Lehel Mária and painter Lehel Ferenc, both artists and art writers.

At the start, the operation of the museum was financially supported by a private foundation – the Hamza Museum Foundation – which was established by Lehel Mária Hamza, the artist's wife. The private foundation managed the collection of publicly owned artworks for more than five years.

The founder Hamza Lehel Mária chose and invited the members of the foundation’s board of trustees with particular care, because she definitely wanted to ensure the realization of the purpose formulated at the time of the donation: the establishment of the Jász Art Gallery with the Hamza collection. Thus she received a request from László Tálas, county museum director; Sándor Varga, retired ambassador; Mihály Terjék, retired ambassador; Nándor Bartos, engineer; Sándor Búzás, teacher; Maria Deme, university associate professor; Dr. László Dobos, economist‑sociologist; Enikő Hamza, economist; János Tóth, museum director; Dr. Levente Magyar, mayor (Jászberény); József Sisa, industrial artist; Ferenc Szikra, mayor (Jászárokszállás); Sándor Török, mayor (Jászapáti). The legal assistant, at the founder’s request, was lawyer Dr. János Knorr.

The Hamza Museum and Jász Gallery Public Foundation

Without significant ongoing private funding, the private assets dwindled, and the museum’s future increasingly came under threat.

The city of Jászberény – after the Jász‑region settlements relinquished the portion of the inheritance that fell to them in favor of Jászberény – made a serious and important decision when it decided on the support and operation of the museum for the benefit of the artworks that came into its exclusive ownership. This decision was aided by the “For Jászság” Foundation also relinquishing its preferential right, according to which, after the private foundation’s dissolution, it would take over the management of the Hamza inheritance and the foundation’s assets. This took place within a three‑party agreement signed by the city of Jászberény, the Hamza Museum Foundation, and representatives of the “For Jászság” Foundation.

The city council established the Hamza Museum and Jász Gallery Public Foundation in 2000, thereby ensuring the continued operation of the museum. The foundation’s board of trustees initially consisted of five members, its president Dr. Robert Kertész, director of the Damjanich János County Museum, and its vice‑president Dr. Károly Stanitz, who became deputy mayor. The other board members were Dr. László Dobos, delegate of the “For Jászság” Foundation, Dr. Edit H. Bathó, director of the Jász Museum, as well as András Nagy, high school principal, and chairman of the Education and Cultural Committee of the Jászberény City Council. In 2003 further changes occurred in the board. The most important modification was that the previously function‑linked board membership was replaced by invitations addressed to individuals. The new board was also assembled by the city council with great care. Thus the board president became Dr. Károly Stanitz, deputy director‑general (SZIE‑JFK), its vice‑president became engineer István Szikra, and its members were: Dr. Ilona Kertész Piroskáné, lawyer; Dr. Edit Bathó Hortiné, museum director; Dr. László Horváth, director of the JNSZ county museums; Dr. László Dobos, officer of the “For Jászság” Foundation and the Association of Jász; Dr. István Rédei, lawyer. For legal assistance the board again engaged lawyer Dr. János Knorr. At that time the foundation operated the museum with four employees: one director (Gyöngyi B. Jánosi), one museum folklorist, one administrator and one part‑time caretaker/cleaner.

After the registration of the public foundation, it began its operation in accordance with its Founding Charter, but it can fulfill only the tasks related to the Hamza legacy among those assigned to it. It has not been able to realize the creation of the Jász Art Museum (Jász Gallery) and the permanent exhibition of visual artists associated with Jászság—another major area of its activity—up to the present day. The primary reason for this is that the current building is unsuitable for solving this task.