Minister for Human Resources Zoltán Balog opened an exhibition featuring traditional itinerant crafts such as the tinkers, potters and woodworkers on Tuesday, 24 June.
The Minister said in his opening speech that people should be more respectful towards one another. He said the exhibition reminds us of a hierarchic world were everything had its place in a properly functioning system. He said that the exhibition also illustrates the difference between work and profession. While the original definition of the former is associated with toil and suffering, a profession is about creating something unique and at the same time useful in everyday life.
Director General of the Museum Lajos Kemecsi said that the exhibition also aims to help different strata of Hungarian society to better understand one another. Most of Hungary’s traditional itinerant workers used to be Roma, with their work both indispensable and underappreciated, Mr. Kemecsi said. The exhibition features archive photographs of the craftsmen, the tools of their trade, their creations and several works of art depicting them – the paintings are by Roma artists such as Teréz and Jakab Orsós.
The exhibition – organised in cooperation with the Slovakian Povazské Museum - will be open until 4 January 2015.