GRÓF Ferenc – GYENES Zsófia: (Dis)organigram – State Art Foundation, 2022

250 x 170 cm, hand-stitched carpet

Once the Hungarian art world had been brought under state control in 1948, a large state-owned art company was created whose name was changed several times. Initially it was known as the Fine Art Fund, then—with the merger with the Literary and Music Fund—it was referred to as the Art Fund of the Hungarian People’s Republic (Art Fund, for short). Its main task was to provide an economic basis for the art world, while managing the art supply business, maintaining state-run artists’ colonies, exercising control over art studios, and running a publishing company. The Art Fund had at its disposal a significant part of the state benefits intended for supporting artists in the form of grants, prizes and pensions. Its operations were restructured several times, and, following the economic reforms of 1968—and especially in the 1980s—it had control over several market-based initiatives. After the change of regime, it underwent several transformations with a significant reduction in its assets and real estate holdings. It was succeeded by the Public Foundation of Hungarian Artists (Magyar Alkotóművészeti Közalapítvány, MAK) and later the National Association of Hungarian Artists (Magyar Alkotóművészek Országos Egyesülete, MAOE).