On May 18, World Museum Day, our permanent exhibition opened in the attic of the Vastuskós Ház. The exhibition "Intercultural Snapshot" awaits the public with the ethnographic treasures of the Imre Patkó collection: visitors can get to know more than a hundred African and fifty special Oceanian and East Asian ritual objects. The 2026 concept following the 1986 and 2010 arrangements brings the eternal forms of human existence of distant cultures closer with a new approach, interactive digital content and authentic sources. Dr In the direction of the curator . Zsuzsánna Paál, visitors can not only view artefacts, but can also become part of an anthropological journey that guides you into the depths of the spiritual world through objects.
The objects shown in the exhibition once existed in Africa, Oceania and Asia, in the relationship between the communities there, before they came to Győr through the collection of Imre Patkó after a long way. Being in a museum is the second life of objects. Their origin - who exactly made them and when - is now often shrouded in obscurity.
Although we do not always know their specific life stories, the cultural messages coded in them can be revealed. A comparative analysis of object types, stylistic features and symbols helps to reconstruct the world in which they were born. By exploring their place in customs and ceremonies, we present this particular section of the global heritage of humanity.
In traditional communities, the lack of writing did not mean a lack of historical memory or myths. Knowledge and collective memory were passed on verbally and in visual language: the creation stories and tribal chronicles did not survive in books, but on masks, sculptures and paintings. For the initiates, each color, line and form had a concrete, legible meaning.
Humanity has been looking for a connection with the invisible since ancient times. The cultures of Africa, Oceania and Asia have created a bridge between the earthly and spiritual spheres. These objects were active participants: they accompanied ceremonies, communicated with ancestors, provided fertility or averted harmful forces.
Our goal is not only to look at, but also to understand them within their own system. We look for the answers to those universal human questions in them - Who am I? Where did I come from? How does the world work? - to which each culture responded in its own unique way in the language of materials. Let's discover these answers in the form together and learn about the fascinating diversity of human creativity and spirituality through them!
