In almost all areas of life it has been proven that the strength of unity exponentially increases the success of its constituent parts. The question is always: when do the people working in a given field, whether geographical or professional, recognize the necessity of alliance?
When the geographical location and field of expertise coincide, then success is almost guaranteed. This is what has happened to the galleries and antique shops in the vicinity of Falk Miksa Street, near Parliament. But a long and rocky road led to the 2006 alliance.
Since the opening of national borders after the 1989 change of regime, Hungary has come to the fore of western attention. Once again the world recognized that there exists a tiny country in Central Europe, whose culture had been neglected for decades, and possesses valuable and unique cultural treasures. Thanks to the influx of mostly American tourists in the ’90s, combined with a renewed passion for the arts so long suppressed in Hungary, a new golden age of galleries and cultural institutions began, with everyone preoccupied with making their businesses successful. At this stage, businessmen could only see those occupying the same segment of the market as competitors, not potential partners.
The novelty, however, soon wore off, and the events of 9/11 heralded the end of the boom years. The flood of American tourists dried up and suddenly people noticed that ‘business is not going so well’. People knew that something had to be done, but changing the routine developed over the past four decades did not come easy. It took a leap of faith for the gallery and antique shop owners based in and around Falk Miksa Street, who always believed in the advantages of cooperation (e.g. joint advertisement in tourist magazines, shared communication), to finally convince the skeptical majority. After last year’s surprisingly successful events, however, the necessity of cooperation is today unquestionable for everyone.
An exemplary event was the Falk Art Forum held in September 2006