The figure and legacy of Ignác Semmelweis was presented and brought closer from new perspectives and through varied programmes at this year’s Night of Museums at the Semmelweis Medical History Museum.
“The programmes of the Night of Museums are always determined by the current exhibitions. This year we built it around our name-giver, Ignác Semmelweis”, said Hanna Kómár, museum pedagogue, organizer of the Night of Museums. During the programme, visitors could walk in the former home of the Semmelweis family, where the remains of the saviour of mothers lie. In addition, several pieces of the never-before-seen Semmelweis legacy could be viewed on a curatorial guided tour.
According to the organizer, the past collided with the present: at the exhibition on the birth of obstetrics, Dr. Zsolt Melczer, obstetrician-gynaecologist, mentor lecturer of the lecture series for secondary school students, presented the exhibition with a medical eye. Besides, he informed the visitors about how the different tools were used in practice.
The exhibition of Beáta Szabó, painting artist, with the title Invasive has been in the museum since April. You can view paintings made specifically as reflections on certain pieces of the permanent exhibition. Hanna Kómár said: the artist presents the human body through objects, which, in this way, is an exciting encounter of art and museum objects. The non-ordinary works of art can be viewed by the public until 31 July.
Benedek Varga, Director General of the Hungarian National Museum, gave a lecture on the Semmelweis Memorial Year and the Hungarian doctor’s legacy. At the traditional closing concert, Attila Környei, guitar artist, played music this time.