What happens when young people take something familiar and give it a new meaning? A traditional song can become a completely new piece of music, a famous painting can inspire a contemporary performance, and a story passed down through generations can be told from a young person’s own perspective. At MCC ARS, students explore Hungary’s cultural heritage through their own ideas, experiences and creativity.
A poem by Ady can become a song. A painting by Csontváry can inspire a theater performance. A folk song collected by Bartók can take on a new sound. Local stories, family memories, regional traditions and even different ways of speaking can all become sources of inspiration. There is no single way to approach these themes. What matters is how young people connect with them and how they choose to express that connection through art.
MCC ARS is the nationwide arts program of MCC's High School Program (KP). It gives students with an interest in arts the opportunity to explore their creativity, develop their skills and share their work with others. Each year, the program focuses on a central theme connected to Hungarian culture, identity and the heritage of the Carpathian Basin.
The program encourages students to look at tradition from a new perspective. Folk tales and legends, folk music and art, important moments in Hungarian history and the work of well-known Hungarian artists can all become starting points for something new. Students are free to interpret these themes in their own way and connect them to their own experiences and ideas.
Throughout the year, students can take part in different MCC ARS activities and present their own artwork or performances. The program gives them a chance to gain creative experience, learn from one another and meet other young people who share their interest.
The highlight of the program is the annual ARS National Final in Szekszárd, where students present their work to their peers and a professional jury. It is an opportunity to celebrate their creativity and see the many different ways in which young people can approach the same cultural heritage.
At its core, MCC ARS is about giving tradition a new voice. Rather than simply preserving the past, the program asks how today’s generation sees the cultural heritage it has inherited and what new stories, ideas and forms of expression it can create from it.
