With exhibitors from 4 continents, increased exhibition space and a wider range of programs, central and eastern Europe’s largest art fair further strengthens its position as a regional leader.
For a few days this year, from October 6th to 9th, Art Market Budapest once again presents Budapest as one of Europe’s most attractive meeting places for lovers of contemporary art: as many as 116 exhibitors from nearly 30 countries of 4 continents bring thousands of works by over 500 artists to the amazing exhibition spaces of Bálna Budapest in the center of the Hungarian capital.
In response to the extraordinary interest of exhibitors, Central and Eastern Europe’s leading art fair is set up this year on four floors of the popular building located on the River Danube, covering a total of around 8,000 square meters. Among the many accompanying programs of the art fair, Bálna Budapest also hosts Art Photo Budapest, Central and Eastern Europe’s only international photography fair, the Inside Art international art industry conference and the 360 Design Budapest design exhibition.
Serbia was invited as guest of honor of Art Market Budapest in 2022: in addition to over a dozen exhibitors participating in the fair, supplemented by exhibitions and events at external locations, under the patronage of Serbian Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Culture and Information, Maja Gojković, an art festival is created under the name MOST.SERBIA. Art Market Budapest continues to be partner of Liszt Fest, an international festival of outstanding richness and quality, as its key visual arts element, thus contributing significantly to the cultural touristic attraction of Budapest.
The range of art offered at Art Market Budapest continues to expand
In recent years, the international art fair scene has been significantly reshuffled by the COVID crisis, but Art Market Budapest, successfully completed as an in-person event in both years of the pandemic, has continued to strengthen its international position. The international art community’s professional confidence in the fair now completing its 12th annual edition, and the stability of the domestic art market have both contributed to the higher than ever number of exhibitor applications for Art Market Budapest, far exceeding the pre-pandemic demand for exhibition space, and have enabled the fair’s international professional board consisting of gallery owners to implement a wider selection and higher quality than ever before. The outstanding richness of this year’s selection is well indicated by the number of countries the fair’s exhibitors represent, including Argentina, Austria, Bosnia-Hercegovina, Chile, Columbia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, the United Kingdom and the USA.
Although it can only meet a fraction of the exhibition needs of this year’s applicants, Art Market Budapest occupies a larger exhibition space than ever before, thousands of works by over 500 artists are presented on around 8,000 square meters on four floors of the Bálna Budapest building, making a selection of 116 exhibitors from 26 countries available to visitors and buyers alike.
Guest of honor: Serbia
Art from Serbia, this year’s guest of honor at Art Market Budapest, is a special treat. An extremely broad selection provided by over a dozen Serbian exhibitors in all sections of the fair is expanded into an art festival under the title MOST.SERBIA (‘most’ means bridge in Serbian) and is complemented by a range of accompanying exhibitions at various venues all over Budapest.
Q Contemporary, a private museum presents a selection of the oeuvre of Mira Brtka, one of Serbia’s internationally most appreciated contemporary artists, the now 150 years old Hungarian University of Fine Arts hosts an exhibition in cooperation with the Belgrade University of Fine Arts, the amazing new post-industrial exhibition venue Gabor Szoke Studio welcomes a unique show based on a Serbian private collection titled Collecting Serbia – Public Hobby, while the Hungarian Workshop (Magyar Műhely) Gallery focuses on the work of artists from minorities living on both sides of the Hungarian-Serbian border.
Inside Art, one of the most prestigious art industry conferences in Europe, the traditional side event of Art Market Budapest, dedicates a special day to Serbian contemporary art, which will also provide an opportunity to establish direct contacts with heads of art institutions arriving from the guest country. The invitation of Serbia as guest of honor and the associated MOST.SERBIA festival, in the light of the artistic offering now presented in Budapest, highlights the fact that the quality and richness of contemporary art in Serbia justifiably demands greater visibility in the European art scene, and the program also confirms the leading international role of Art Market Budapest in presenting and promoting the art of the Central and Eastern European region.
Inside art: including a focus on art & real estate development
The four-day Inside Art international art and art industry conference, which takes place in the conference center on the top floor of the fair venue during Art Market Budapest, aims, with the participation of major international experts and stakeholders, to set trends, in addition to presenting the forces and events currently shaping the global art scene and market. It is particularly with a trend-setting intention, that a highlight of this year’s conference program is a full day seminar titled Building on Art, focusing on the relationship between real estate development and the world of art, and the value-adding effect of art and artistic intervention in newly developed buildings and infrastructure, with the declared aim of reviving and expanding the culture of adding artistic content to real estate and infrastructural developments.
Art and design
As in the program of Inside Art on another dedicated conference day, a set of related events at Art Market Budapest focus on the relationship between contemporary design and fine art. While the blurring of the boundaries between design and art is a known professional phenomenon, Art Market Budapest, which is constantly looking for ways to expand the consumer market for fine art, sees a special opportunity in reaching out to a design-savvy audience. It is for this reason that – in cooperation with the Hungarian Fashion and Design Agency – the design show 360 Design Budapest accompanies Art Market Budapest at the fair location, for a full satisfaction of even the most demanding professional audiences. The cooperation between the Agency and Art Market Budapest also extends to other areas, such as the joint invitation and hosting of a group of foreign journalists specializing in design & art, and the coordination of collectors’ and VIP programs.
The connection between art and design is made even more spectacular by a newly established partnership with BMW, Art Market Budapest welcomes the popular art program of the German luxury manufacturer known as BMW Art Cars collection, presenting one of its most famous pieces, the BMW 8 X JEFF KOONS designed by the world’s probably best known living artist Jeff Koons. Another perfect example of BMW’s dedication to art (now dating back a half century) is the fact that the legendary British creator and photographer Nick Night is behind the visual campaign of the group’s new BMW i7 electric luxury limousine, also presented to design lovers at the fair location.
Art Photo Budapest: photography remains in the focus of attention
Art Photo Budapest, founded in 2014 as a dedicated photo section of Art Market Budapest, to emerge as a popular meeting place for the international photographic community by now, continues to maintain its unique position as the only international photography fair in the Central and Eastern European region. This year, in addition to European galleries and other institutions, the photography fair covers 3 continents thanks to exhibitors arriving from, among others, Argentina, Chile and South Africa.
Due to increased interest in this platform, Art Photo Budapest occupies a larger space and is now stretched out to a complete floor in the fair building. One of the many delicacies of the exhibition program this year is a selection of works observing the links between applied (fashion) photography and photo art, making the intertwining of the two areas visible and tangible. Inside Art traditionally complements the extremely diverse photographic program with a conference day dedicated to photography, now focusing on the influential role women have been playing in the history of photography.
Special guests contribute to the fair’s prestige and popularity
The appeal of this year’s Art Market Budapest is enhanced not only by the extremely wide range of exhibitors but also by the visit and involvement of some of the leading figures of the international art and cultural community. Among many others, one of today’s most sophisticated collectors, James Keith (JK) Brown, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the highly influential and trend-setting New Museum in New York, presents his favorite works of art during a personal guided tour at the fair. Legendary designer and architect Piero Lissoni is one of the most popular lecturers on the program of this year’s Inside Art conference, hosted in partnership with the Hungarian Fashion and Design Agency. Serbian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Culture and Information Maja Gojković also attends the fair as a special guest, opening and visiting various components of the MOST.SERBIA festival in Budapest.
Art Market Budapest 2022
International Contemporary Art Fair
OCTOBER 6-9, BÁLNA BUDAPEST, HUNGARY