Artpool Art Research Center
Artpool Art Research Center is a free, non-profit archives and exhibition space in Budapest, Hungary, dedicated to contemporary international avant-garde media arts, such as Artist's books, artistamp, mail art, visual poetry, sound poetry, conceptual art, fluxus, installation, performance. It is located at Liszt Ferenc tér, 10, first floor.
It was founded in 1979 based on the "Active Archive" conception as a center for the type of avant-garde art that was officially condemned or prohibited by the national establishment. It was founded, and is still run, by György Galántai and Júlia Klaniczay, as an offshoot of György’s Chapel Studio in Balatonboglár. Between 1979 and 1989 Artpool organised several mail art exhibitions. The exhibition "Hungary Can Be Yours" in 1984 was the last officially banned art exhibition in Hungary.
From 1983 - 1985, Artpool illegally published 11 issues of "Aktuális Levél", an underground magazine which was the only source on unofficial art of that time in Hungary.
Following the Revolutions of 1989, Artpool, which had achieved a growing international reputation, was opened publicly in 1992 with support from the Budapest Municipal Council.
The public archive at Artpool ranges over 300 meters shelving. The archive and library contain documents of international art and documents related to the Hungarian avant-garde and subculture from the 1960s on, such as "correspondence, notes, plans, ideas, interviews, writings, works of art, photo documents, catalogs, invitation cards, bibliographies, chronologies, diagrams, video and sound documents, CD-Roms, etc."
Some of the international avant-garde artists and art-groups who are in the Artpool Archives, and have exhibited and lectured there include: Fluxus artists Ben Vautier, Dick Higgins, Geoffrey Hendricks, Endre Tót, Robert Watts, Jean-Jacques Lebel, Ray Johnson sound poets and performers Jaap Blonk, Paul Panhuysen, Bernard Heidsieck, Tibor Papp, Julien Blaine, Ernst Jandl, mail art and artist's book artists Guglielmo Achille Cavellini, Buster Cleveland, Ginny Lloyd, Anna Banana, Vittore Baroni, Guy Bleus, John Held, Jr., Barbara Rosenthal.
