Thought-provoking public installations, exhibitions

The 9th edition of the pulzArt contemporary arts festival brought everything into one dimension. Individual micro worlds were the central theme of the series of events that started from very intimate, personal experiences, but which eventually always evolved into community events.

The world of art was connected with outdoor and street spaces, through an installation by artist Daczó Enikő at the entrance of the Art Gallery, during the art market exhibition, organized together with the Baz/Art fair. Symbolizing the flow of creative energy, the artwork reminds us to get used to the fact that these spaces belong to us too. The aim of this innovative initiative is not only to admire artworks but also to buy them, supporting local artists with a strong creative drive.

Young women washing bed sheets were the sight that greeted us on Saturday morning in Elizabeth Park. As in previous years, the 9th edition of pulzArt brought contemporary art into the public space. The public award for the initiatives submitted and implemented in response to the call for entries to the public installation competition was won by the kk_kollektív team (Horváth Mihály, Kali Ágnes, Kusztos Anna, Kusztos Júlia), who drew attention to invisible works such as cooking, washing, cleaning, caring for children, the elderly and the sick with the help of graffiti sheets and community washing. Can we, are we capable of building a community to ensure that the responsibility of invisible but life-sustaining work is not disproportionately borne by the exploited members of our society? With 208 lines drawn on sheets, passers-by answered the question of how many hours they spend doing invisible work. In addition, community members could join in the washing, working from their accumulated hours – 48 hours of accumulated washing, according to the log. 

A soft neon orange tank, swords made from the forged trunks of Christmas trees and many other powerful video productions greeted visitors to MAGMA’s contemporary art exhibition space in a group exhibition entitled Pop-up Tankage, with the theme of war. At the opening, those who entered into the space were immediately confronted with a question that sparked a debate: do you think weapons exist because war is part of human nature or does war exist because weapons exist?