Ferenczi House – The International Ferenczi Center
The Sándor Ferenczi Society and the International Sándor Ferenczi Foundation are pleased to announce that we achieved our goal: the purchase of the "Ferenczi House" – Ferenczi’s original office in his beloved former Villa. The contract was signed on May 27, 2011.
The Ferenczi House will serve as an international study center and archives named International Ferenczi Center. We hope that it will represent not only a piece of the past of the history of psychoanalysis, but also a new chapter in our future.
The Ferenczi House Project was a project initiated by the Sándor Ferenczi Society (www.ferenczisandor.hu) developed and promoted together with the International Sándor Ferenczi Foundation (www.ferenczihouse.org) in collaboration with the Associazione culturale Sándor Ferenczi (www.ferenczi.it).
Honorary Committee of the Ferenczi House Project was: Christopher Bollas, Claudio Eizirik, Horacio Etchegoyen, Axel Hoffer, Otto Kernberg, Elisabeth Roudinesco, Anne-Marie Sandler, Bennett Simon and Robert Wallerstein.
Many thanks to all whose hard work and generous support made our dream come true!
Judit Mészáros, PhD
Chair of the Ferenczi House Project,
President of the Sándor Ferenczi Society
Carlo Bonomi, PhD
Treasurer of the Ferenczi House Project,
President of the Associazione culturale Sándor Ferenczi
The Story of The Ferenczi House Project
In 1985, with the publication of the Clinical Diary, the Ferenczi Renaissance began. In 1988 the Sándor Ferenczi Society was established in Budapest. One of its founding aims was to establish a museum and archives. Then, every two-three years, international “Ferenczi” conferences have taken place in different parts of the world. At these conferences, organized spontaneously, professionals and intellectuals from different institutions and backgrounds have participated and continued to contribute to the furthering of Ferenczian ideas.
On September 2005, at the meeting “Sándor Ferenczi and contemporary psychoanalysis” in Florence, the wish emerged for a more permanent international network. A few weeks later, Judit Mészáros (President of the Sándor Ferenczi Society) was informed that a part of the former Sándor Ferenczi Villa was for sale. The apartment was originally Ferenczi’s office where he received his patients. It is in this villa that Ferenczi wrote the Clinical Diary in 1932, and also one of his most cited papers: Confusion of Tongues between Child and Adults. The idea of establishing the Ferenczi House, Archives and Center began to take shape. The Sándor Ferenczi Society immediately rented the apartment with the option to buy it within two years.
In the following months Judit Mészáros and Carlo Bonomi outlined the “Ferenczi House Project”, and the fundraising campaign began. The idea was also launched to create an International Sándor Ferenczi Foundation with the aim to provide an international base to the project. The Ferenczi House project was presented at the Clinical Ferenczi Conference in August 2006, in Baden Baden. In the fall of 2006, André Haynal established the foundation. At the same time in Italy the Associazione culturale Sándor Ferenczi was also established by the Istituto di psicoanalisi H.S. Sullivan of Florence (Carlo Bonomi) and the Scuola di Specializzazione in Psicologia Clinica of the University of Turin (Franco Borgogno). The Italian Association played a very important role both in the fundraising campaign and in providing facilities (secretarial assistance/website). Other local organizations were created in France - Maison Ferenczi - and in Argentina - Association Cultural S. Ferenczi, while in the US, the Ferenczi Center at the New School for Social Research also supported the project.
The fundraising lasted much longer than initially anticipated – it became a 6-year long process. It was necessary to renegotiate the original contract twice with the owner, which was extremely difficult, but finally the goal was reached and on May 27, 2011, the apartment – located at Budapest, I. ker. Lisznyai utca 11. I. em. 4 – was purchased by the Sándor Ferenczi Society and the International Sándor Ferenczi Foundation.
On the day of the purchase, a small ceremony took place at the Ferenczi House in which Judit Mészáros inaugurated the International Ferenczi Center. Károly Oriold (Director of the Lélekben Otthon Könyvkiadó/publishing house) and Carlo Bonomi (President of the Associazione culturale Sándor Ferenczi) have been given awards by the Sándor Ferenczi Society for their indispensable contribution to the Ferenczi House Project. At the same occasion the First Ferenczi House Lecture was delivered by Carlo Bonomi entitled The Future of the Irma Dream: The overwhelming task of standing trauma.
Later on in September 24th a larger opening ceremony took place in the format of a garden party where several outstanding representatives of Hungarian psychiatry, psychotherapy, academic sciences and cultural life participated. Among the persons who lauded the event in their speeches was Judit Mészáros (Chair of the Ferenczi House Project, founder and president of the Sándor Ferenczi Society), János Harmatta (founder of the Sándor Ferenczi Society, former president of the Hungarian Psychiatric Association), György Hidas (founder president of the Sándor Ferenczi Society), Attila Németh (former president of the Hungarian Psychiatric Association), István Bitter (Head of the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy), István Bánfalvi (political advisor in the area of social affairs), Csaba Pléh (full member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences).
Donation
Now that we secured this important place for the benefit of future Ferenczi studies, we must concentrate on the on-going responsibilities of this wonderful project. We are seeking new donations for the maintenance of our new International Ferenczi Center, located in the Ferenczi House. Your generous contributions will provide vital resources for the Center’s cultural, educational and scientific programs and services. In advance, we are deeply appreciative to those whose future contributions will make this Center work.