Museum of Fine Arts director Laszlo Baan has been appointed as government commissioner in charge of developing a new museum quarter, the government’s official gazette Magyar Kozlony reported on Thursday.
Baan’s appointment is effective from October 1, 2011 to September 30, 2013. He will also keep his current position heading the Museum of Fine Arts.
His tasks as government commissioner will include “preparing the concept, execution and architectural design-tender for a building complex to house the national public collection in Budapest’s 56-ers Square, with a special focus on merging the collections of the Museum of Fine Arts and the Hungarian National Gallery,” the gazette reported.
The government commissioner will report to the prime minister and he will not receive remuneration for his activity, the gazette said.
State secretary for culture Geza Szocs said in mid-September that the Andrassy museum quarter is planned to be developed near the City Park and along Andrassy Avenue. A new building is planned to be built near the Museum of Fine Arts and Mucsarnok, two Budapest landmarks facing each other in Heroes’s Square. The collection of the Hungarian National Gallery is planned to be moved from the castle district to the new museum quarter, Szocs said.
