Arts policy in Kádár Era in Hungary, 1957–1989

Abstract

The study presents the development of the art policy of the Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party between 1957 and 1985, describing the processes and tendencies supporting it. The art policy of the Kádár era was framed by four documents among the various party resolutions, with different weight and effectiveness: the The Cultural Policy of the Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party (1958); The Vocation of Literature and the Arts in Our Society (1966); Topical Issues in Our Arts Policy (1977); and the On the Current Tasks of the HSWP's arts policy (1984). György Aczél, the main director of the art policy of the Kádár era, played a decisive role in their creation, albeit with age. The appearance of the documents always marked a change in the era of art policy, in close connection with the consolidation after 1956, the attempts at economic reform in the 1960s and the reversal of the 1970s.