| Prestigious Hungarian award for John Miller, Director of the Cork Vision Centre for promoting Hungarian culture in Ireland |
The Hungarian Minister for National Cultural Heritage has granted Mr John X Miller, Director of the Cork Vision Centre the Pro Cultura Hungarica award. Minister for National Cultural Heritage Dr András Bozóki granted this prestigious award to Mr Miller as an acknowledgement of the latter's outstanding contribution to the promotion of Hungarian culture in Ireland.
Under the auspices of the programme of Cork 2005: European Capital of Culture, Mr Miller initiated and organised the Enlargement! project at the Cork Vision Centre with the aim of introducing the contemporary visual arts of the 10 new EU member states, including Hungary, to the Irish public. The Enlargement! project proved to be a major success as the exhibitions of the 10 countries attracted over 70 thousand visitors. The Hungarian Government - in close cooperation with the Cork Vision Centre and its director, Mr John X Miller, expanded the Hungarian part of Enlargement! into a full-fledged Hungarian Cultural Month in Cork City in February 2005. Besides the exhibitions of sculptor Mária Lugossy and painter József Gaál, the programme of the Hungarian Cultural Month included a concert by the Auer Strings Quartet, the screening of contemporary Hungarian films and a performance by the acclaimed Győr Ballet Company. The visit of the President of the Republic of Hungary Ferenc Mádl to the closing ceremony of the Hungarian Cultural Month in Cork highlighted the importance Hungary had attached to the whole project.
As a result of the Enlargement! project and that of the Hungarian Cultural Month in Cork thousands of Irish people obtained their first impression of Hungary and Hungarian culture. Furthermore, new links - professional and personal alike - have been established between Cork and Hungary.
This award was presented to Mr. Miller by Dr. János Balassa, Ambassador of the Republic of Hungary to Ireland, on behalf of the Minister, at a lunch in the Ambassador’s residence in Dublin on the 24th March. The following dignitaries were present: Mr. John Kennedy, Director, Cork 2005: European Capital of Culture, Mr. Barry Murphy, Principal Officer, Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism, together with other Ambassadors from the EU-10 countries.
Dublin, 27 March 2006
Embassy of the Republic of Hungary
|
