What Year Are You?

“We understand our shorthand way of speaking!?” 
In 2023, MODEM Center for Modern and Contemporary Art, established in 2006, transitioned from a contemporary gallery into an institutional museum. Celebrating its 18th anniversary, MODEM presents What Year Are You?, the first major exhibition exclusively drawn from its newly accessible public collection. 

The exhibition adopts generational theory as its curatorial framework, organizing artworks according to the birth years of participating artists rather than traditional art historical or aesthetic categories. This approach underscores how generational contexts, diverse geographical locations, and varying social experiences influence artistic practices and thematic preoccupations. 

Through a carefully curated selection—including institutional acquisitions, donations from artists, long-term loans from private collectors, and artworks developed during residencies at the Debrecen Artists in Residence (DAIR)—the exhibition explores critical questions about the changing roles of museums and collections today: How do generational experiences shape artistic creation? What expectations do different age groups bring to art institutions, and how can museums effectively address these diverse needs? What Year Are You? actively engages scholars, artists, and the broader public in exploring these urgent and complex topics. 

The title references the renowned Hungarian cabaret monologue What Year Are You? by György Szilágyi (1928–2010). Originally broadcast in 1976 on Kossuth Radio—Hungary’s national public broadcaster and a significant cultural institution—Szilágyi’s widely adapted humorous yet insightful commentary captured the generational consciousness of those “born in ’28,” a motif echoed in MODEM’s contemporary curatorial approach. 

Bringing together an array of artistic media—painting, sculpture, photography, video, installation, and performance—the exhibition also functions as a retrospective overview of MODEM’s institutional identity. It highlights significant artists who have notably shaped the museum’s programming over the past eighteen years, either through solo exhibitions or leading roles in influential group exhibitions.  

Exhibiting artists 
Lost Generation (1883–99): Vilmos Aba-Novák / Founders or Builders (1900–25): Judit Reigl, Vera Molnár / Silent Generation (1926–45): Ákos Birkás, Ilona Keserü, László Lakner, István Nádler,  Zoltán Tölg-Molnár, Endre Tót / Baby-Boomers (1946–64): Imre Bukta, Lajos Csontó, Ágnes Eperjesi, László Fehér, László feLugossy, Imre Gábor, Pál Gerber, Balázs Kicsiny, Ilona Lovas, Sándor Pinczehelyi, Gyula Várnai / Generation X (1965–80): Zsolt Asztalos, Emese Benczúr, Attila Csörgő, Marcell Eszterházy, Tibor Gyenis, Katharina Roters, Nagy Kriszta x-T, Péter Pettendi-Szabó, Sára Richter, Société Réaliste, József Szolnoki / Generation Y (Millennials) [1981–95]: Nikolett Balázs, Kincső Bede, Máté Dobokay, Judit Gallai, Márton Nemes, Judit Lilla Molnár, Renáta Pintérova, Judit Flóra Schuller, Tim Freiwald, Lilla Váczi / Generation Z (Zoomers) [1996–2012]: Dorottya Szonja Koltay.

Curator: Szabolcs Süli-Zakar (Generation X) / Co-curator: Krisztián Gábor Török (Generation Z [Zoomers])