Hungarian artists made a hit in Prague for the first time

An exhibition presenting Hungarian creators debuted at the Designblok festival in Prague. As part of the Budapest Select exhibition realised in the collaboration of the Hungarian Fashion & Design Agency (HFDA) and the Liszt Institute Prague, 15 Hungarian artists’ objects were displayed between the 4^th and 8^th of October 2023. The exhibition reflecting on the topic of Journey was very popular, especially among young visitors.

The strategic goals of the HFDA include raising the profile of Hungarian artists, enhancing exports, and facilitating cooperation. To achieve these objectives, the Agency participated in the 25^th Designblok International Design Festival, one of the determining creative industry events of the Central European region. The appearance was realised in collaboration with the Liszt Institute Prague which is the leading ambassador of Hungarian culture, education and science in the Czech Republic, and joined the Designblok event to celebrate its 70^th anniversary.

‘A coordinated professional appearance at the determining international design and fashion events and trade fairs is among the Hungarian Fashion & Design Agency’s main strategic pillars. We debuted in Prague for the first time now, which provided a brand new opportunity for those interested to meet the Hungarian creativity and the best works of the silicate industry. We believe that we must ensure similar high-standard international appearances that increase domestic creators' visibility with a unified and coordinated presence and contribute to the strategic goal of turning Budapest into the region’s fashion and design industry centre in the long run. Moreover, international appearances have a significant national brand image-building effect since often the profession and the broad audience meet the creative industry’s representatives, and through it, the abundance of Hungarian cultural heritage for the first time at these events.’ – said Zsófia Jakab, the Hungarian Fashion & Design Agency’s CEO, about the importance of debuting in Prague.

Designblok is usually realised in different locations. The Budapest Select exhibition, displaying Hungarian creators’ works, was held in the biggest exhibition space of the National Gallery Prague, the Trade Fair Palace, in the section called Openstudio, which is a sort of contemporary design laboratory, where product, fashion, and jewellery designers, graphic designers and illustrators were showcased. Those interested could see the creations of domestically and internationally renowned ceramists, glass designers, and sculptors as part of the installation based on a paraphrase of the Journey. The silicate industry creations were presented in wooden boxes, which uniquely alluded to the transport of the artefacts, while also evoking the memories of travel, which we carry with us as treasures analogous to objects. The curator of the exhibition, Gáspár Bonta, brought Designblok’s topic, Journey, to life with the concept.

‘The Budapest Select exhibition was extraordinarily popular among the young people of Prague, which is an important feedback for us. We believe it is crucial for the Agency to reach out to young people, especially Generation Z, and national and international appearances provide a good opportunity to do so. These occasions have an educational role as well since they make a wide range of the Hungarian creative industry visible and available to a broad audience, they can even talk to the creators and peek into the background of creation. It is good to see that young people are design-oriented, interested in environmentally conscious products, curious about craftsmanship and traditions, and open to getting to know the cultural heritage.’ – highlighted Anita Forintos-Szűcs, the Hungarian Fashion & Design Agency’s Deputy CEO.

The broad audience and the profession were both represented at the design festival in Prague. The Budapest Select exhibition was visited by Rossana Orlandi, curator of the design LAB curated by Rossana Orlandi programme and renowned figure of international contemporary design. Domestic creators’ works were viewed by the journalists of Dolce Vita, a cultural magazine published in Slovakia and the Czech Republic for more than 20 years. There were several inquiries from collectors about the artists’ works, which were further negotiated.

The Budapest Select’s exhibitors were Tünde Ruzicska, Debóra Horák, Petra Szondi, Balázs Veres, Lilla Cséfalvay, Ádám Csaba Szabó, Hajnal Gyeviki, Zsuzsanna Deák, Sára Kele, Zsuzsanna Formanek, Bori Segesdi, Kyra László, Anita Monori, Ágnes Smetana and Attila Kertész. The creators appeared under the Budapest Select umbrella brand again, created by the HFDA based on international best practices, which aims to provide larger visibility for creators during their international appearances with joint and unified communication while retaining their individual characteristics.

You can view a part of the Budapest Select exhibited pieces in Hungary at the 360 Design Budapest between the 17^th and the 22^nd of October 2023.