The unique project was presented in the book Fresco Feather of the Goldenbird and in January, the Norwegian Ambassador to Hungary H.E. Siri Ellen Sletner participated in the opening of a photo exhibition in the prison chapel.
Photographer Mikós Gránitz followed the 18 month process of restoration led by the Hungarian fresco painter Lencses Zsolt closely. The team combined a special wall painting training with so-called fresco-therapy, and the old stained walls were converted into beautiful frescos.
- It gives me great pleasure that I could share the exalted moments of the new consecration. I have gained a lot of friends, and such an experience of joining forces might set a good example for other people, Mikós Gránitz said during the exhibition opening.
Fotó: Balassagyarmati börtönkápolna The chapel built in the 1840s in Balassagyarmat prison and penitentiary was hidden for nearly 50 years before a team of artists, architects and prison inmates came together to renovate the chapel with support from the Norway Grants.
The project, expertise and the lessons learnt are all portrayed in the Fresco Feather of the Goldenbird, available for purchase in the larger bookshops in Hungary.
The main goal of the project was to involve the prison inmates- 70 in total- in the renovation of the chapel to provide them with a technical education within wall painting and frescos. The project applied Fresco-therapy (the power of art in social development theory) that can help increase the inmates’ employment opportunities after their release.
To learn more about the project: http://www.norvegcivilalap.hu/index.php?t=24&id=55