The most innovative creations of the Hungarian and regional design scene were on show again this year—the 360 Design Budapest exhibition, showcasing revolutionary new design trends, dreamed up by the Hungarian Fashion & Design Agency, has reopened for a week at Bálna Budapest. After last year’s success, the event came back with a new look and a new concept. In addition to the online and offline exhibitions, visitors could also enjoy several extra activities.
The Hungarian Fashion and Design Agency and the 360 Design Budapest have the unhidden aim to raise awareness of the uniquely rich and wide-ranging design world of the Eastern European region and help Hungarian design brands enter the international market. The exhibition showcased the work of almost forty Hungarian and regional designers, including furniture, ceramics, lamps and other objects ranging from István Ulmann’s doghouse to Dóra Riederauer’s soft BABA wool rocking chair. This year’s exhibition featured the work of designers who, with their contemporary thinking, ingenuity and unparalleled craftsmanship, are reimagining design history with modern trends—all in a sustainable form. This year, the works were presented in four thematic exhibition spaces: manufactures, developers, limited-edition, almost artifact-worthy crafts, and environmentally and materially conscious design products.
The latter is particularly well placed in the concept, as this year’s aim and creative concept was environmental awareness, recycling and sustainable creation. To find our way back to nature, create in harmony, almost in symbiosis, with our environment. On the other hand, the last period has brought a new approach: a more significant role has been given to rethinking homes, shrinking spaces, and widening intimate spaces. A sustainable and conscious approach is also a feature of the 2020-21 products, both national and regional. This new-generation vision was characteristic not only of the works on display but also of the surrounding exhibition: the concept of the exhibition put great emphasis on the cyclical attitude of water, natural materials, and the evocation of the living world. Walking on wooden planks, we could see the exhibition, surrounded by water and jungle elements, while above our heads, we could admire the sparkling waters of the Danube. Almost every part of the installation was made from recycled materials, and some of the pieces will be reused after the event.
A unique feature of this year’s exhibition was that representatives of different artistic disciplines were guests at the guided tours: Zita Kraszkó, editor-in-chief of Femcafé, started the tour, followed by Zsolna Ugron, writer, András Bojár Iván, art historian, József Martinkó, editor-in-chief of Octogon and Iván Vitáris, frontman of Ivan and the Parazol. And on several days during the week, Gáspár Bonta, Programme Director of 360 Design Budapest, presented the details of the exhibition. In addition to the diverse viewpoints and artists, there were also a series of educational round-table discussions by the Hungarian Fashion & Design Agency’s design DIALOG on real innovation and the future of design in the V4 countries.
Here you can have an insight of the event through the lenses of Mateusz Kunkiewicz: