The Budapest Street Archæology exhibition lists the domestic aspects of the international Street art movement from the past 20 years. It presents significant Hungarian artists, projects, tangible memories and documents. The aim of the exhibition is for the children to get to know the youngest of the major artistic trends, hoping that as a result they will consciously look at their living environment and protect its visual values.

Presentation of the Gallery

The Deák17 Children's and Youth Art Gallery is located in the heart of Budapest, 5 minutes' walk from Deák Ferenc tér, on Fashion Street, in the building at 17 Deák Ferenc utca. The six-story residential and office building located here was designed by architects Sámuel Révész and József Kollár. The facility originally featured the style features of German Jugendstil architecture, but the facade has been remodeled several times in the past, so nowadays it has a clean, more modern exterior. The institution operates on the first floor of the listed building, where exhibition, employment and office spaces have been modernized on a floor area of 537 square meters. 

Operating under the maintenance of the Metropolitan Municipality Deák17 Galéria It has been operating since 2015. The gallery is both an exhibition and community space as well as an art education center. Its purpose is to organize periodical exhibitions of fine and applied arts, to create the possibility of professional dialogue between different creative workshops and organizations, to ensure and organize art pedagogic activities, involving teachers, parents, children and young people. The gallery hosts various cultural programs, family matinees, and summer camps. It fulfills the task of filling gaps and supporting art education.

The high-quality work carried out in the gallery has received numerous awards in recent years. In 2020, it won the Family-Friendly Museum award, as well as the Community Museum award. And in 2021, it was added to the Edison100 list, which gathers domestic, innovative and future-friendly initiatives that develop the critical knowledge and competencies of preschool and school children beyond the school framework.

The institution has chosen one of the most authentic methods for educating the contemporary audience: it juxtaposes the works of children and young people, as well as contemporary visual artists, on a similar theme and with a related spirit, so that its exhibitions appeal to several generations. The activity of the gallery is completely non-profit, its exhibitions and programs are free.

The gallery is unique in that it conveys contemporary art primarily to young people. Building on their receptivity and openness, it contributes to the development of a sustainable, accepting world and society.

Budapest Street Archæology

On September 8, 2021, actor and director Simon Szabó opened the Budapest Street Archæology exhibition, which is the first to attempt to historically process and present the past twenty years of Hungarian (primarily capital city) Street art. The person of the opening is also authentic, because although many people don't know it, Simon Szabó himself was an active connoisseur and creator of the world of graffiti in the past. The summary exhibition of the Deák17 Gallery presents archival documents: photos, publications, newspapers, relics and, in a unique way, the blackbooks that passed from hand to hand among the artists were also exhibited. The temporary exhibition can be viewed from September 9 until December 17, 2021.

The exhibition reveals the history of street art through the creations and tangible memories of 11 key artists and/or groups of artists whose work spans the past twenty years - and who still have a significant influence on other street artists. The genre diversity of the scene is reflected in the works that can be viewed in the gallery. In addition to wall painting and spray paint (Nikon One, Iamsuzie), we can see here stencil (Void), sticker (Szárnyas Bozoz), paste-up (0036Mark, Miss KK, 1000%, DTM) works, paintings animated with AR technology (from Fat Heat ), but also small sculptural works - made of bronze (Mihály Kolodko's mini-sculptures) and ceramic (Rapa73's letter compositions).

Deák17 Gallery considers it important to emphasize that it distances itself from encouraging anyone to commit illegal acts, since a law has been in force since 2010 that clearly classifies the placement of "graffiti" as vandalism - and as such, the "perpetrator" can be punished with imprisonment. In addition, the law classifies almost all unlicensed public painting as graffiti: whether it is graphic or textual - and whether it is created with spray paint, felt-tip pen or any other surface-forming material. The aim of the exhibition is for the children to get to know the youngest of the major artistic trends, hoping that as a result they will consciously look at their living environment and protect its visual values. The aim of the exhibition is to research Street art as a contemporary visual art phenomenon and to reveal its secrets and significant features for both adult and young audiences. 

The 11 representative artists or groups were consciously selected by the curator of the exhibition, art historian Bianka Zsigó, as visitors can view the works of artists in the gallery who have had an influence on the Street artists.

The first protagonist of the Budapest street art scene was the 1000% group, which is about to celebrate its 20th anniversary, so it could not be left out of the exhibition. Their street decoration mission began in 2002, as former MOME students.

He is among the exhibiting artists 0036Mark who, although it may seem like it, is not a newbie, the wall sticker artist who has been active since 2018. For his works, he selects from pop culture, most often he brings heroes of popular cartoons to the streets of the capital and fits them into a funny context, reflecting on their surroundings.

The members of the DTM - i.e. Dekor Team, or otherwise known as the Durva Trabantos Matrica - are all former apprentices of the Dekor School in Damjanich Street, whose work can also be found in the exhibition.

Fat Heat has been painting for 20 years, and he quickly focused on the potential of legal graffiti. After biomechanical letters, he creates organic figural compositions, now also on canvas. He was one of the first in his country to use AR technology (augmented reality) in his creations. Those interested can view 2 of his works in the gallery.

The graphic designer Iamsuzie Since 2015, he has been painting mainly on vertical walls, focusing on his emotional, expressive figures instead of letters. His friendly characters are reminiscent of old cartoons and comics, and he is a frequently invited artist at domestic and foreign Urban art festivals.

Mihály Kolodko displays his small bronze works in public spaces with the mentality of Street art - but his works immediately fit into their surroundings and (beyond the guerilla action) become part of the city as full-fledged works of fine art. At the exhibition, among other things, visitors can view a sculpture that has not yet been displayed in a public square.

Miss KK's almost life-size wall stickers are inspired by the glamor of the fashion world. But the snappy inscriptions read on the photomontage dolls sound a wake-up call against exaggerated appearances and draw attention to the important balance between exterior and interior.

Nikon One is an old-school scribbler, one of the first to enter the gallery environment, and he has been receiving commissions from the film industry for a long time. 

The works of Rapa 73 can also be found in the exhibition. The artist was a founding member of one of the very first Hungarian graffiti groups, PNC (Pride not Crime) and the influential Kriminal Beats music collective, as well as the first artistic director of the Színes Város group. Today, he runs his own studio, from which rarely seen ceramic letters and tile compositions appear on the walls of the city center.

The visual artist Szárnyas Doboz is one of the oldest active stickers in Budapest. Since the turn of the millennium, he has been pouring out his hand-drawn versions of boxes, which are always recognizable for their pithy comments and thought-provoking questions. Visitors can also see his works in a gallery environment.

Void graduate visual artist, his repertoire has been continuously renewed since his graffiti beginnings (almost two decades ago). Emotional, caricaturistic or evoking portraits of specific people are often seen on stickers and stencils. The Pareidolia phenomenon can be found in his public works and in the Budapest Street Archæology exhibition, the essence of which is that the artist discovers a human face even in inanimate objects.

At the opening of the exhibition, Attila Veres aka Audiolife provided the electronic background music. In addition, Deák17 Galéria provided non-alcoholic soft drinks and scones for the visitors, to enhance the atmosphere. The opening was more successful than ever in the history of the gallery. The event took place with two gate openings due to the huge interest, as approximately 250 people visited the Deák17 Gallery on the opening day. "We achieved an even higher reach on our Facebook page, the event created for the exhibition reached 40,223 users, of which 1,435 indicated that they would visit the exhibition. In the coming months, we expect high traffic in the institution similar to the past few weeks." - the gallery's communication staff informed us of the exact data.

The text of the press material was prepared based on the writing and research of art historian Bianka Zsigó, which will be published in its original form in December 2021 in the form of an independent catalog processing the exhibition, curated by Deák17 Galéria.