Pesti Vigadó, located at the very heart of Budapest, re-opened its gates 10 years ago: it opened as the seat of the Hungarian Academy of Arts in March 2014. This year the central theme of Pesti Vigadó's "Open Doors" Day event was the 10th anniversary of the opening of the refurbished building, and the programmes were characterised by staging a ball atmosphere.

From 10 a.m. on Saturday, 11th May 2024, visitors had the opportunity to view the building's permanent and temporary exhibitions free of charge. These exhibitions included Attila Csáji's showcasing entitled "Flashes from the Past and Present" and painter Gábor Véssey's jubilee exhibition entitled Autumn Songs. Visitors interested in the rich history of the building could learn more about the past of this magnificent place through guided historic walk tours given in Hungarian and English, and were provided with further information about the history of the building at the permanent exhibition entitled "The Timeline of Pesti Vigadó". The Exhibition and Fair of Handicrafted Products as well as the event where visitors could try on costumes of the 19th century Hungarian Reform Era and could have there photos taken were a huge success. Visitors were simply captivated by these beautiful garments. In the scope of another programme, Hungarian actor and Vice-president of the Hungarian Academy of Arts Zoltán Rátóti talked to third-year students of acting and his students at the University of Theatre and Film Arts about education and university years. There were also programmes specifically designed for children including the event about the special Hungarian cradling method called "Ringató", Ball Fan Making and the Creative Image Design Workshop. Programmes for adults included the Recycling Molinos Workshop and the Calligraphy Workshop. The customs and traditions as well as the costume design and costume wearing customs of old balls were introduced to the lovers of this period of the 19th century during a lecture, while 19th century ballroom dances and Hungarian folk dances were shown in the scope of special performances. Mini-concerts connected to historic walk tours were also very popular, and so were surprise opera excerpts performed throughout the day. The "Open Doors" Day event, which attracted over one and a half thousand visitors this year, ended with a stand-up comedy evening entitled "Pesti Vigadás".

It will be worth revisiting Pesti Vigadó's website soon: photos taken during this special day – including photos of visitors trying on costumes of the 19th century Hungarian Reform Era – will be posted soon.