The concert of the Lajos Vass Choir of Hungarian Teachers in Slovakia had opened the exhibition of 16 Hungarian artists from Slovakia – painters, sculptors and architects – in the large central hall of the European Parliament. The exhibited pieces are all works of members of the Association of Hungarian Artists in Slovakia. Tibor Kopócs, president of the association claimed that the material presented is a significant representation of Hungarian contemporary art in Slovakia. The choir gave a concert at the statue of József Antall, in the plenary hall of the EP, the atrium area in front of the EP and at the statue of Béla Bartók in Brussels.
The initiator of the exhibition is Pál Csáky, EP representative of the Party of Hungarian Community (SMK-MKP), who said that before Slovakia takes over the Presidency of the European Union we must show ourselves and by presenting our culture we must indicate in a civilized manner that Slovakia does not belong only to the Slovaks. "I thought it would be right before the official opening of the presidency to bring the soul of the homeland here, or at least something of it. And I’m rather bound by the fact that the representatives from the 28 member states all speak different languages, so communication through language is automatically risky and limited. This is why I thought that we would bring in the visuals and the music.” In his speech, Csáky stressed that the cultivation of our culture was an indispensable tool in the struggle against assimilation.”
The exhibition was opened by Ildikó Pelczné Dr. Gáll, EP vice president of the party Fidesz. On the occasion, a brochure in English and Hungarian was also published, giving a detailed introduction of the exhibiting artists and some basic information about the general situation of the Hungarian community in Slovakia.
(www.hirek.sk, 15 June 2016)
