This week is all about design: 360 Design Budapest has started

The Hungarian Fashion & Design Agency (HFDA) is holding the 360 Design Budapest regional design exhibition for the fourth time, between the 17^th and the 22^nd of October. The event, which has been very popular in recent years, is housed by the Adria Palace this year, where the audience can view over 200 creations by more than 60 well-known and emerging domestic and regional designers. At the exhibition, we can witness the meeting of the past, present, and future in different artistic approaches; moreover, exclusive guided tours and side events also enrich the programme series.

The Red Dot Award winner 360 Design Budapest aims to raise the profile of domestic and regional artists, help design brands enter the international markets and introduce new, innovative, and sustainable directions to the professional audience and the general public. An important novelty in 2023 is that, in addition to product designers, industrial artists and fine artists also debut in a new venue, the special installation space created in the Adria Palace. The curator of the exhibition is Gáspár Bonta, who created a spectacular concept for the event: Blending the rich design history and industrial art heritage of Hungary and the region with contemporary works, he brought a real past-present-future axis to life. Over 200 works by more than 60 creators, including 15 young talents, will be displayed. Altogether, 13 product designers and artists from regional countries – the Czech Republic, Austria, Poland, Ukraine and Croatia – will be displayed in the exhibition space. As part of the collaboration with the Museum of Applied Arts, artworks selected by Judit Horváth, museologist, curator, and Gáspár Bonta, will further strengthen the exhibition’s concept drawing upon cultural traditions and change.

‘The Hungarian Fashion & Design Agency’s goal is for Hungary to fulfil a determining role in the fashion and design sectors regionally. To achieve this, we have been organising the internationally acclaimed 360 Design Budapest exhibition since 2020 which contributes to increasing the country’s national brand image and tourist appeal. Throughout the years, the regional design exhibition has become an experience-based design programme series that is unique in the CEE countries with the involvement of cultural, touristic, and educational institutions, and construction industry and design enterprises. The representatives of the international press also visit the event series not only to participate in 360 Design Budapest programmes but also to get a taste of the cultural and artistic values of Budapest in a hospitality tour thus they can also promote the capital’ – said Zsófia Jakab, the Hungarian Fashion & Design Agency’s CEO.

The chief guest at 360 Design Budapest is one of the most acknowledged icons of international contemporary design, Rossana Orlandi. On Thursday, the designer-manufacturer duos of the Hungarian design LAB curated by Rossana Orlandi 2023 will present their development plans, then the world-famous curator will hold a direct conversation with young people interested in design to share her experiences and inspirations with them. On Friday, 6AM: Glassworks Italian design brand’s creative founder duo, Edoardo Pandolfo and Francesco Palù, will unveil an exciting fusion of craftsmanship and a modern approach to design in a panel discussion.

‘This year’s topic revolves around change and being open towards it, it draws upon the meeting of the past and the present, and preserving and renewing Hungarian cultural heritage. Designers exhibiting at 360 Design Budapest seek answers to 21st-century challenges with the tools of art such as sustainability or material innovations. We have sought to place a strong emphasis on engaging the younger generation and working with different sectors. Domestic manufacturers will be present in the exhibition space for the first time, with the aim of encouraging further networking. We hope that the programme series will reach a significant milestone with the professional and regional cooperations and strengthen its position in the region’ – emphasised Anita Forintos-Szűcs, the Hungarian Fashion & Design Agency’s Deputy General Managing Director.

Gáspár Bonta, the curator of 360 Design Budapest; Priszcilla Varga, stylist and art director; Nóra Winkler, cultural expert; Judit Horváth, museologist and curator, Head of the Department of the Contemporary Design Collection of the Museum of Applied Arts; Anna Kelen, leading art historian of Virág Judit Galéria; and Iván Vitáris, singer and frontman of the band Ivan & The Parazol will give exclusive guided tours at the exhibition. You can even get to know the designers and the representatives of the domestic manufacturers if you join the Meet the Designer and Meet the Manufacturers programmes. 

Various side events also await those interested in different venues of the capital; in the Code Showroom, the Italian design brand, 6AM:Glassworks will hold a pop-up exhibition. A design fair by Független Iparművészeti Kortárs Szalon (FIKSZ) further amplifies the series of events, where over 40 leading domestic industrial artists’ works are on offer. It is also worth visiting the Zsolnay exhibition at Virág Judit Galéria which is a real specialty. The Inside Art / Building on Art Hungary professional day realised in collaboration with Art Market Budapest will feature experts discussing the questions and future of art appearing in public spaces. One of the most spectacular elements of the partnership is the design tram in the capital which transports those interested on tram line 2 between the venues of Art Market Budapest and 360 Design Budapest.

The professional community has awarded 360 Design Budapest at various design competitions throughout the past few years: Alongside the Red Dot award, it was also on the podium in two categories in the A’ Design Award & Competition and won a gold medal in the Virtual Expo category and a bronze award in Art Event category at the eleventh Global Eventex Awards from the 600 entries.

The cooperating partners of the event series are Art Market Budapest, the Museum of Applied Arts, Czechdesign, Code Showroom, JAB Anstoetz Group, Max City, Virág Judit Galéria, FIKSZ and Roadster magazine.

You can find detailed information about the exhibitors and the programmes on the event’s website, to which you can register for free.

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About the Hungarian Fashion & Design Agency

The Hungarian Fashion & Design Agency was founded in 2018 to support every actor in the fashion and design industry in an efficient and structured way, following predetermined strategic pillars: professional coordination, enhancing Hungarian brands’ availability and trade opportunities, educational development and manufacturing development. To realise their goals, the HFDA organises domestic events each year, such as the region’s major fashion event, the Budapest Central European Fashion Week, or the 360 Design Budapest exhibition, which has received international awards. Besides, they provide Hungarian creators opportunities for participation and debuting at international professional events such as the Milano Fashion Week. Strategic cooperation with professional organisations, increasing exports, and supporting Hungarian brands’ professional development with mentoring programmes are among their accentuated goals.

360 Design Budapest

The 360 Design Budapest event series, organised yearly by the Hungarian Fashion & Design Agency, draws attention to the everyday role of design surrounding us in 360 degrees. The event aims to make Hungarian and regional product designers more widely known using modern tools, help domestic design brands enter the international market, and present new, innovative, sustainable directions for the target audience interested in design. By realising the event, the Agency wants to help Hungary become a regional centre in the design industry and create a programme which attracts tourists from all around Europe.