The Hungarian Theatre Museum and Institute of the Petőfi Literary Museum (HTMI-PLM) is the largest public theatre archive in Hungary, with the main call of preserving and presenting the heritage of the Hungarian language theatre, dance and puppetry.
Founded in 1952, HTMI-PLM operates in two historical buildings: the theatre archives are located in the Áldásy Palace, while the Gizi Bajor Actors’ Museum, the former villa of actress Gizi Bajor, is the site of permanent and temporary exhibitions and conferences. As theatre is one of the most complex forms of art, HTMI-PLM has many separate collections, which document all the aspects of the production, distribution and reception of the theatre performance: audio-visual materials, photographs, manuscripts, models, costumes, set and costume designs, posters and playbills, relics and memorabilia, fine arts, theatre architecture.
There is also a specialized thematic library and a large press archive to assist research on all forms of Hungarian theatre. Each year the HTMI-PLM publishes the Yearbook of Hungarian Theatre and builds a comprehensive online theatre database. Due to an intensive digitization process, many of the collection items can already be found online on Szinhaziadattar.hu, ECLAP, Europeana or Sketchfab. HTMI-PLM regularly publishes books on Hungarian theatre history and theory and a magazine of theatre theory, titled Színháztudományi Szemle (Review of Theatre Theory).
HTMI works in close cooperation with its Central European partner institutes (Slovakia, Czech Republic, Poland, Slovenia, Romania), who are regularly working together on international projects (TACE, PACE.V4, Visegrad Drama series). The permanent exhibition of the HTMI-PLM, located in the Gizi Bajor Actors’ Museum, presents an overview of the Hungarian theatre history, following the guideline of the process of the theatrical creation. Four dedicated halls in the museum offer temporary exhibitions on topics which are especially relevant at the given time. HTMI-PLM also offers a series of travelling exhibitions to other sites in Hungary and abroad.