Exhibition of works by Yona Friedman – Opening: 2010.09.15 19:00, On View: 2010.09.16 - 2010.10.31  Location: Trafo Gallery, Budapest

Grandiose visions of future cities and simple manuals motivating city dwellers of the present to shape their own living environment: Yona Friedman is an advocate of the social embeddedness of random aesthetics and architectural thinking.
He was born in 1923 in Budapest. During the war, this is where he was first confronted with the dramatic consequences of the failure of urban infrastructure, which convinced him soon enough, and for good, about the importance of urban networks and their sustainability. He began his studies in Budapest, to continue in Haifa, Israel, where he worked for some time before moving permanently to Paris in 1957.
For decades, he has been occupied with describing so-called mobile architectural structures, where “mobility” stands for the capacity of the buildings to adapt and conform to the lifestyle and behaviour of the inhabitants, as well as to their changing expectations regarding their living environment. Yona Friedman proposes the introduction of basic components and structures that can easily be modified and complemented, without requiring constant supervision by a professional architect: the capacity of planning, together with the power this entails, is handed over to the users of the buildings.  

The goal of the long-term project, a collaboration of Trafó – House of Contemporary Arts and Ludwig Museum, apart from introducing Yona Friedman’s rich oeuvre to the public, is to find inspiration in his ideas and seize their critical potentials.

In the scope of the incrementally structured project, the exhibition in Trafó from 15 September will be followed by “The Architecture of Survival” international conference on participatory planning, urban ecosystem and infrastructure, and the architecture of shanty towns, organised by KÉK (Hungarian Contemporary Architecture Centre) on 26 October. Throughout autumn 2011, Ludwig Museum will present a Yona Friedman retrospective exhibition, involving projects that reflect the influence of Friedman’s thinking today.

http://www.trafo.hu/statics/trafo_galeria

The first edition of Lift Workshop in Hungary sets the scene in the Eastern Quartier of Pécs at a historical coal mining site, an outstanding architectural merit, now part of the city’s cultural heritage. As European Capital of Culture in 2010, Pécs attracts international attention as a cultural pole on the periphery of the European Union.

Departing from this context Lift @ Eastern Quartier addresses the possibilities of new technologies in the socio-cultural periphery of a changing post-industrial urban landscape. It turns this particular locality and its challenges into the centre of the attention of architects, artists, social scientists from the region and from regional media labs with the objective to explore and connect with recent discussions regarding urban computing and situated technologies and extend the discourse to specific regional issues and problems.

The aim of the workshop is to explore the implications of urban information systems for architecture and urban design, disciplines that have been largely absent from the mostly technologist-driven discussions of "ubiquitous" computing but nevertheless can provide new insights and alternative perspectives on the implications of “networked objects” for urban culture, newly emerging spatial practices and organizational forms. During the workshop participants develop responses, scenarios applicable to Eastern Quartier and later other urban areas undergoing similar transformation.

Lift Workshop @ Hungary: Eastern Quartier is organized by Kitchen Budapest in collaboration with KÉK - Hungarian Contemporary Architecture Centre. To find out more about the organizers, our sponsors The workshop will be held on Sunday, 26 September 2010, all day. See detailed program.

You can register to the workshop: click here

Ninety kilometres of rope, twenty thousand pencils and hundreds of drawings are used in the installation of the Hungarian Pavilion at the International Architecture Exhibition to open in Venice in August 2010.

In August 2010 Hungary participates at the 12th International Architecture Exhibition, the most prestigious architectural festival to date, with its BorderLINE Architecture installation programme. The concept created by two young designers, Marcel Ferencz and Andor Wesselényi-Garay, relates both to the sensation of geographical borderlineness and the dissimilarity between various architectural attitudes. BorderLINE Architecture is presented as an installation medium in the Hungarian Pavilion the spatial design of which is based on the physical manifestation of the line and the visual representation of the living, drawn line. To illustrate this idea, the focal point of the exhibition is a film series of drawing interviews produced specifically for the biennale with the participation of Hungarian and foreign architects such as Heinz Tesar, Tony Fretton, Vasa J. Perović, Eduardo Souto de Moura, Ken Yeang, Helena Paver Njirić, Wolf D. Prix, Edouard François, Aljoša Dekleva, Tina Gregorić, Peter Schweger, Davide Macullo, Maurizio Bradaschia, Andrija Rusan, Hermann Czech, Christian Jabornegg, András Pálffy, Zvi Hecker, Sou Fujimoto, Rok Oman, Gaétan Siew and the Croatian architecture office 3LHD.

The Hungarian participants of the film series are Csomay Zsófia, Ekler Dezső, Farkas Károly, Finta József, Karácsony Tamás, Lengyel István, Major György, Miltenberger Miltényi Miklós, Molnár Csaba, Nagy György, Répás Ferenc, Vadász György, Tóth Péter, Varga Anikó, Vincze László and Virág Csaba.

http://borderlinearchitecture.com/

WAMP is a young, grass-root initiative which aims to represent Hungarian designers at festivals, design weeks, exhibitions in Hungary and throughout the world. It also has its own regular local design events and markets, organized for its 500 member designers. The objective of the initiative is to bring design closer to the public and to enhance intercultural relations in the field of design.

After having shows in Vienna, Berlin, Beijing and New York, we are proud to bring the up-and-coming talents and the freshest roots of Hungarian design to Helsinki Design Week. Our aim was to offer a carefully selected sample of the most innovative design projects in the fields of fashion, jewellery, accessory and object design of 18 Hungarian designers in a special time capsule installation. Created today for the senses of tomorrow!

WAMP has chosen to present design concepts that reflect the way Hungarian designers think about tomorrow, today. The futuristic visions of lighting, jewellery or object design reflect the playful thoughts of these young minds: always look ahead, use the passing moments of the present to skip towards the future, which could be far more interesting if you put a tricky spin on the process.

These design works show how to wear toys as jewels, how to dress in the incalligraphical codes of a city, how to let your pendrive become a precious fashion accessory, and many other innovative concepts sealed in one highly concentrated time capsule. Taste the time drops of WAMP!

Exhibiting designers and collaborating groups: Arcana  Dalma Závodszky, Benjamin A. Balla, Blokk – Viktória Balogh, Bolt – Zita Majoros, Buidesign – Szilveszter Büi, doraabodi – Dóra Abodi, Feher – József Fehér, Noémi Gera, Barbara Katona, Kitchen Budapest, Laarka – Boglárka Csömör, Ákos Lipóczki, Zsuzsanna Magony, László Marosi, Anett Papp, Plümo – Farkas Pongrácz, PSPK Design – Balázs Püspök, Szofita

Time Drops installation space created by Márton Ágh.

Venue: Hungarian Cultural and Scientific Centre
Kaisaniemenkatu 10
Opening: 27.8, 20-21

http://www.helsinkidesignweek.com/

http://www.wamp.hu/en/

One of the key events of the European Capital of Culture Programme series is the exhibition presenting one of the most important artistic movements of the 20th century, the Bauhaus, through the works of artists of Hungarian origin who had close ties with the school and later became world famous, and those of their masters, Gropius, Kandinsky, Klee, Itten, Feininger, Schlemmer, Bayer, and Joost Schmidt. Visual art works (paintings, prints and sculptures) and architectural designs, models, photos, furniture, stage and costume designs, photographic and textual documents, and film clips presenting one of the most significant artistic schools of the 20th century are all part of the exhibition. Unique is that over 20 Hungarian artists joined a German school: László Moholy-Nagy, Marcel Breuer, Gyula Pap, Otti Berger, Alfréd Forbát, Andor Weininger, Farkas Molnár, Henrik Stefán, Hugó Johan, István Sebők, Henrik Neugeboren, István Schwarz, Margit Téry, Etel Fodor, Irén Blüh, Judit Kárász, Ernő Kállai.

Date/Time: Aug 15, 2010 - Oct 24, 2010. Venue: Janus Pannonius Museum

Further information: http://bauhaus.jpm.hu/

470 applicants from 39 countries vied for the internationally renowned Kanazawa Glass Award 2010. The jury, which is made up of international professionals, chose the Hungarian glass artist László Lukácsi as the winner of the contest and the recipient of the Grand Prize – the most esteemed award of them all, ranking above the gold medal and the four silver medals.

The Grand Prize of Kanazawa is the highest international accolade that a glass artist can hope for. Apart from the honour of receiving this prestigious award, the prize-recipient receives 1 million yen and an invitation to participate in The International Exhibition of Glass Kanazawa 2010 in September.

• Allan Sekula: Polonia and Other Fables - Exhibition in Budapest July 09, 2010. - September 19, 2010., Ludwig Museum – Museum of Contemporary Art Budapest. www.lumu.hu
• Depero the Futurist and the Impact of Futurism on Avant-Garde Art. From 4 June to 22 August. Vernue: Hungarian National Gallery Budapest

• Exhibition of work by Lívia Gorka Lívia ceramist. From 17 June to 13 September. Venue: Magyar Kereskedelmi és Vendéglátóipari Múzeum (Hungarian Museum of Trade and Tourism) – www.mkvm.hu
• Light, space, from / Fény-Tér-Forma – exhibition of worky by Hungarian glass sculptors. From 18 June to 8 August. Venue: Erdész Galéria, 2000 Szentendre, Bercsényi u. 4. http://galleryerdesz.hu/rebuild/
• Photos by Zsuzsa Kemenesi Zsuzsa. From 5 July to 29 August. Venue: Raiffeisen Galéria Budapest, V. distr., Akadémia utca 6.

• ’I am how I am’ – exhibition of works by Hildur Ýr Jónsdóttir Icelandic jewel designer. From 13 August to 3 September. Venue: Museion No. 1 Galéria (Budapest, IX. distr. Üllői út 3.)
• Exhibition of works by Anna Kubinyi textil artist. From 14 August to 5 September. Venue: Fonyódi Múzeum (8640 Fonyód, Bartók Béla u. 3.).
• ’Amorous messages’ – exhibition of works by Noémi Gera jewel designer From 3 August to 21 August. Venue FISE (Fiatal Iparművészek Stúdiója Egyesület) Gallery (1054 Budapest, Kálmán Imre utca 16.).
• Exhibition of work by Judit Bányász, Klára Bein and Ildikó Nyári textil artits. From 5 August to 27 August  Venue: Mű-Terem Galéria, Debrecen (4024 Debrecen, Batthyány u. 24.)
• 'Chopin – Music – Liszt' poster exhibition. From 20 July to 15 September. Venue: Polish Institute in Budapest.
• Poster Pécs 2010 – International exhibition organised by Hungarian Poster Association. From 9 July to 22 August. Venue: Pécsi Galéria (Pécs, széchenyi tér).
• 'Rarely Seen Photographs' – Selection from the treasures of the Hungarian Museum of Photography. From 4 July to 5 September. Venue: Mai Manó Ház, Budapest.
  

Marking the Chopin Year and the upcoming Franz Liszt anniversary, the Polish Institute in Budapest, the Hungarian Cultural Institute in Warsaw, Krzysztof Dydo Poster Gallery in Kraków and the Hungarian Poster Society launched a competition for the best poster designs inspired by Fryderyk Chopin’s and Franz Liszt’s music.The contest is addressed to students, young graphic designers and poster artists from Poland and Hungary.
Thirty two competitors had sent their poster designs from Poland and Hungary, among them professionals and amateurs likewise. The great Response has proved that an intriguing theme with numerous possibilities of interpretation can attract and inspire a large number of competitors. The members of the sorting committee have selected as best the works of the competitors listed as follows: Baráth Ferenc, Gál Krisztián, Ryszard Kajzer
According to the sorting committee's decision, the works of the artists listed below are exhibited at the Polish Institute in Budapest from 20 July to 15 September:
Farkas Varga Gábora, István Szatmáry P., Marcin Markowski, Klaudia Kost, Krisztián Gál, Tamás Tóth, Dávid Baráth, Péter Gyárfás, István Orosz, Judit Tegze, Szilvia Tongori, Rados³aw £ukaszewicz, Gábor Gyárfás, Sándor Gárdony, Dóra Keresztes, András Felvidéki, Ducki Tomek.

The Hungarian House of Photography and the Hungarian Museum of Photography present „Rarely Seen Photographs – Selection from the treasures of the Hungarian Museum of Photography”. Open to the public: July 4 - September 5. Venue: Mai Manó Ház, Budapest.

The Hungarian Museum of Photography has been welcoming those interested in photography for almost twenty years now. Over these years the original collection of 70 000 items, donated by the Association of Hungarian Photographers, has multiplied ten times over.

Due to the lack of a permanent exhibition space, the photographs stored in the archives can only be presented to the public periodically. There are never-before-shown shots that should have already deserved wall space for their artistic merit.

The exhibition focuses on photographs that had been either rarely seen by visitors frequenting exhibitions or have never been exhibited before. The exhibition is a testament to the fact that not only world-famous artists can leave behind pieces that create lasting impressions. The organizers intend to show that the majority of photographers archived in the photography museum had taken shots that deserve our recognition and appreciation.

At the same time, the exhibition is a portrayal of photo-history. From a chronological viewpoint, we may find shots taken with one of the first technical processes, black and white photos, as well as examples of today’s digital picture taking techniques. The exhibition encompasses the period of 170 years photography has been playing a role in our everyday lives. The latest item is almost as fresh as the morning dew.

The Nissyoku lamp, designed by Péter Toronyi, won the Koizumi 23rd International Light Design Competition for Students.

Budapest-based designer Peter Toronyi designed light "Nissyoku" (Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design and Igendesign project) inspired by solar eclipse with interesting functionality. Description from designer:The len-form panels found on both sides can move to multiple directions. The way and strength of the light is adjusted by the degree of the turning. The two panels move on the concave surface made out of the intersection of the two globes. The panels are fixed on the lamp by the magnets. The lamp can be switched on or off by touching the middle metal ring.
Interview with Péter Toronyi

In his famous documentary photographic and video works, the American artist, Allan Sekula focuses on the human being, often helpless in the face of global capital. The Polonia and Other Fables exhibition presents the artist’s earliest and most recent works.

Allan Sekula (born 1951), one of the best known American artists of his generation, is valued above all for his photographic and film projects of a documentary character. From the beginning of the 1970s, when as a student of amongst others John Baldessari and Herbert Marcuse, he began his artistic activity, he has submitted both the founding myths of capitalist society, and the conventional ways of representing and receiving art to profound critique. Sekula believes, and on many occasions has confirmed this both in his work and through his social and intellectual position, that art, although it cannot overthrow that order, can unmask it and break its ideological hegemony.

July 09, 2010. - September 19, 2010., Ludwig Museum – Museum of Contemporary Art Budapest.

www.lumu.hu

The Programme for Art and Civil Society of Erste Group supports the annual “festival for fashion & photography” and awards the “Kontakt. Fashion Award by Erste Bank” to designers from Central and Eastern Europe. The Prize winner in 2010 is the USE unused from Hungary.

The trio of Hungarian designers behind the brand started their collaboration in 2003, while attending the University of MOME (Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design Budapest), enrolling together in international competitions and creating their graduate collection. Following the initial successes, such as winning a first prize in London at the Cumulus Fashion Tour or receiving an offer to create the costumes for a movie, the team decided to stay together after finishing university and the company was born in 2006. Since then, the designers have taken part in several fashion events in Paris, New York and Tokyo with the collections receiving a good applause both domestically and internationally. The participation at the International Fashion Fair 2007 in Tokyo was especially successful, as USE was awarded to be among the 10 best designers of the fair. The clothes are regularly featured in magazines and are present on the red carpet not only in Hungary, but also in the US, for example Ashley Tisdale, the star of the High School Musical movie wore a USE unused cocktail dress for the Teen Choice Awards 2009 in Hollywood. Another recent triumph was being selected by Coca Cola Co. to be featured in a national Cola light promotion which included designing a bottle and acting as jury in a shirt designing competition.

Kontakt. Fashion Award