8th Óbuda Art Exhibition
APPLICATION PROCEDURE AND CONDITIONS
APPLICATION PROCEDURE
APPLICATION CONDITIONS (FAQ)
THE APPLICATION PROCEDURE – More details
APPLICATION CALENDAR
THE JUDGING
PRIZE WINNERS 2026
COPYRIGHT
8th Óbuda Art Exhibition – “INDUSTRY AND RUST – THE AFTERLIFE OF ÓBUDA’S FACTORIES.”
Fine Art Competition, 2026.
In 2026 – after the successful exhibitions of the previous years – Budapest District III, the Óbuda-Békásmegyer Municipality will organise the Óbuda Art Exhibition for the eighth time this year, which will be hosted – as usual – by the Esernyős Gallery on Fő tér.
The thematic exhibitions organised so far, the 2016 „Óbuda-Aquincum, personal journeys to an ancient world” and the 2017 „Szinbád – Óbuda” exhibitions focused on the past of the district. In contrast, the 2018 exhibition „Day by Day – Present Time in Óbuda” reflected on the challenges and the phenomena of our present. In 2019, we took a step further into the future, encouraging the artists to use the associative language of visual art to project a possible vision of the future, the present, and the feelings and ideas of today. This is how the exhibition „Futura Óbuda – Óbuda of the future” was born. In 2021, the next exhibition was entitled „Genius loci – the spirit of place”. In 2023 the artists have to focused on the major role of Óbuda and the locally bound artworks but will also link it to the 150th anniversary of the capital, the Fine Art Competition entitled „ÓBudaPest – 150 YEARS TOGETHER”.
So, this year, the Municipality of Óbuda-Békásmegyer is announcing a Fine Art Competition entitled
„INDUSTRY AND RUST – THE AFTERLIFE OF ÓBUDA’S FACTORIES” in 2026.
A naturally layered environment with such a rich past—one that continues to live on organically within our present—inevitably invites reflections, moments of wonder, and associations about the intertwining of past and present.
Such a source of inspiration is the historically significant industry of Óbuda, including its long line of factories, among them the Óbuda Shipyard, the Goldberger Textile Factory, the Gasworks, and the Distillery.
The legacy of the remnants of this industrial environment, as well as the afterlife of Óbuda’s factories, is also inspiring: the meeting of decaying industrial spaces with new functions—such as cultural parks and lofts—offers ecological, intellectual, spatial, and visual experiences.
The strong visual contrasts of brick, concrete, metal, rust, and glass provide fertile ground as sources of inspiration for visual artistic practices, as well as for the creation of site-specific installations or sculptures.
The colossal factory buildings still found throughout Óbuda, along with their preserved or decaying relics, remain part of our everyday environment. At the same time, the district’s specialized museums and collections preserve and present important materials related to its industrial past. One might mention, for example, the Óbuda Museum’s temporary exhibition “Anatomy of a Factory: The History of Our Óbuda Shipyard” or the collection of the Goldberger Textile Factory.
Over the past ten years, the Municipality of Óbuda-Békásmegyer has followed the ever-changing world of contemporary visual art with great interest and openness. One of the main goals of the Óbuda Fine Arts Exhibitions is to present the current state of visual art while also showcasing the achievements of artists who live in the district or are connected to Óbuda—for the great enjoyment of both residents and visitors.
Óbuda’s exemplary commitment and its strong relationship with contemporary art will, we hope, be further strengthened through the 2026 call for entries for the Óbuda Fine Arts Exhibition titled “INDUSTRY AND RUST – THE AFTERLIFE OF ÓBUDA’S FACTORIES.” This initiative is expected to remain an important factor in the life of the district and to continue serving as a source of inspiration for visual artists in the future.
APPLICATION PROCEDURE AND CONDITIONS
APPLICATION PROCEDURE
1. To produce works of art of a quality and theme in accordance with the call for application.
2. To register on the website, fill in the entry form.
3. To upload large-sized JPEG images (for technical requirements, see the Application Conditions, deadlines: see the Application Calendar.)
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APPLICATION CONDITIONS (FAQ)
- Who can apply?
The two-round, open call is open to all professional artists who work as artists by profession.
We welcome submissions from artists who are members of the National Association of Hungarian Artists and/or active members of an artistic or professional organisation and who are regularly exhibiting their work.
Applications are also open to young artists who have a degree in a specialised higher education institution or are currently studying at a higher education institution.
- What can you apply for?
The two-round competition “INDUSTRY AND RUST – THE AFTERLIFE OF ÓBUDA’S FACTORIES” is open to works of any creative process, technique or medium. Only new works of art that reflect the theme of the call and have not yet been presented in other exhibitions or previous competitions are welcome. A professional jury of five members of the exhibition’s curatorial board will evaluate the entries and propose prizes for the works.
- What prizes can be won?
Based on the decision, the Municipality of Óbuda-Békásmegyer will recognise outstanding artistic achievements by awarding the following professional prizes:
1st prize: HUF 1.000.000 net
2nd prize: HUF 800.000 net
3rd prize: HUF 600.000 net
The awarded artists agree that their works of art will become the property of the Municipality of Óbuda-Békásmegyer in exchange for the prize.
The Municipality may also decide to award special prizes and purchase additional works of art from the exhibited works.
An electronic catalogue of the works selected for the exhibition will be produced.
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THE APPLICATION PROCEDURE – More details
You can apply by filling in the online application form. A good quality digital reproduction of the work of art to be exhibited is to be uploaded in the appropriate section of the form, one per artist, at 150 dpi, 20 x 20 cm, up to a maximum of 6 MB.
Artists wishing to participate in the two-round competition for the „ÓBudaPest – 150 YEARS TOGETHER” / VII Óbuda Art Exhibition with the prize offered by the Municipality, should fill in the application form as follows:
1. You can enter the competition by filling in the entry form, which can be found at https://kepzomuveszetitarlat.obudaitarlatok.hu/nevezesi-lap. You can enter between 1 and 15 September 2026.
2. A good quality digital reproduction of the work of art is to be submitted – 1 item per artist, the work cannot be not older than of 2023 – or, in the case of non-traditional panels, sculptures, graphics (e.g., installations), a description and sketch of the work, a photo of the miniature. The photo of the file to be submitted should be in .jpg format with a minimum size of 3000 pixels on the long side. The name of the image files: author, title, date: max. 40 characters, without accents, spaces and in lower case (e.g.: abahazi_andrea_budapest_2023).
The competition is open to 1 reproduction of an original work of art per artist, the size of the original work of art must not exceed 1.5 square metres.
3. Include a good quality digital portrait photograph of yourself (the creator) in a square format, up to 6 MB in size – please include the date of the photograph and the name of the person who took it.
4. The artist’s ars poetica is to be attached – maximum 1500 characters (with spaces).
5. Please detail any special requirements for the installation of the work.
6. Please describe the finished artwork or the design of the artwork – maximum 1500 characters (with spaces).
If you have any questions about the exhibition and the application process, please contact Andrea Csépányi, Cultural and Tourism Officer, at csepanyi.andrea@obuda.hu or +36 1 4378 553 during office hours.
There is no entry fee.
Only photographs with a duly uploaded entry form via the website will be considered.
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APPLICATION CALENDAR
ROUND 1
1) Creation of the works of art: until 1st September 2026.
2) Submission of the entries: 1st -15th September 2026.
3) Evaluation of the entries: the entries will be evaluated by a professional jury on the basis of the digital reproductions submitted. The results of the selection process and the jury’s decision will be sent to the applicants in e-mail by 28th September 2026.
ROUND 2
1) Submission of the works: based on the professional decision of the committee, the submission of the works for the artists selected in the second round of the competition will take place between 5th and 8th October 2026 at the Esernyős Gallery. The artists whose works are finally selected by the jury for the exhibition will be informed in due time about further details of the exhibition, installation and technical possibilities as well as about the requirements, copyright, the awarding of prizes and all other exhibition-related matters.
2) Exhibition: The exhibition of the selected works is expected to open on 26th November 2026 at the Esernyős Gallery.
Due to possible changes, the deadlines set out in the call for applications may be subject to modifications, so please keep checking the information published on the website.
THE JUDGING
The judging will be anonymous, only at the end of the judging process will the names of the candidates be known. The jury will evaluate all the images independently and select the 50 or so works of art to be exhibited. The ranking and prizes will be decided in a closed session. The jury has the right to award or withhold prizes. There is no right of appeal against the decision.
The jury members are: Zoltán Bánföldi, painter, performer, Rita Palotás, managing director of Esernyős Nonprofit Kft., József Szurcsik Munkácsy Prize-winning artist – the jury president, László Tenk Munkácsy Prize-winning painter, Miklós Völgyi art collector, and Vagyim Kemény the editor in chief of Óbudai Anziksz.
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PRIZE WINNERS 2026
The award-winning works of the 8th ÓBUDA ART AWARD „INDUSTRY AND RUST – THE AFTERLIFE OF ÓBUDA’S FACTORIES„, announced by the Óbuda-Békásmegyer Municipality in 2026, will be published here. From 2021 onwards, the exhibition has taken the form of a biennale.
The Municipality of Óbuda-Békásmegyer recognises outstanding artistic achievements by awarding the following professional prizes:
1st prize: HUF 1.000.000 net
2nd prize: HUF 800.000 net
3rd prize: HUF 600.000 net
The awarded artists agree that their works will become the property of the Municipality of Óbuda-Békásmegyer in exchange for the prize.
The Municipality may also decide to award special prizes and purchase additional works from the exhibition material to enrich its Contemporary Art Collection.
An electronic catalogue of the works selected for the exhibition will be produced.
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COPYRIGHT
Copyright and user rights – visual arts exhibition
Applicants must grant the following licence to the Promoter in respect of their copyright in the works submitted:
– In connection with the promotion of the exhibition of the entries, the competition organiser is entitled to use the entries selected for the exhibition, provided that the name of the artist and the title of the work are indicated.
– The Promoter, or the Esernyős Nonprofit Kft. in its management, as the organiser of the exhibition, has the right to publicise the entries selected for the exhibition in the context of the exhibition, as well as in the context of a catalogue, programme, Internet site, advertising, etc. closely linked to the exhibition.
– If your entry(s) is (are) selected for the exhibition, the entrant consents to the publication by the organiser of the reproduction of the entry in catalogue form or in electronic form and, to this end, grants the organiser a non-exclusive right of use for an unlimited period, with the entrant’s name being indicated. As this project is not for profit and does not generate any income for the organiser, the applicant waives any right to a prize.
– Any entries that do not receive a prize but are selected for the exhibition will be returned to the applicant by the organiser of the exhibition, Esernyős Nonprofit Kft. In this case, too, the handover will take place at the Esernyős Gallery.
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