The Látkép 2025 Art History Festival this year steps outside its usual boundaries with the Látkép in the City program. Beyond the official festival days, partner institutions across Budapest will host special events for visitors. These external programs take place outside, before, or after the festival proper.
Attention! Participation in most of these events requires prior registration via the respective institutions!
The programs will be conducted in Hungarian; English interpretation will not be provided.
Archive Tours, Lectures, Exhibition Tour, and Film Screening | Budapest City Archives
Date: 23–24 September 2025
Venue: Budapest City Archives, 1139 Budapest, Teve u. 3–5.
Detailed programme:
Tuesday, 23 September 2025
9:00–10:00 Guided tour of the “Budapest 75” exhibition
Exact location: Aula
The creation of Greater Budapest was preceded by decades of planning and debate. The surrounding towns and villages had their own local governments, identities, and cultural lives, but their development was shaped by their close connection to the capital. Several proposals were made before 1950 to formalize this relationship. The exhibition offers a glimpse into this exciting process.
10:00 In Search of Artifacts: Archival Adventure for Lost Art Treasures (thematic archive tour)
Meeting point: Aula
The archive holds many unique items rarely seen by the public. This unusual tour introduces visitors to our oldest documents, which are valuable both historically and artistically. We explore how someone might go in search of a lost artwork, looking at legacies, police files, and art thefts, and highlighting the restoration of archive items considered works of art.
14:00 Classical Beauty: Artworks and Art History in the Archive’s Collection (thematic archive tour)
Meeting point: Aula
Some archival documents are not only historically significant but also aesthetically impressive. These materials stand out not only as sources but also as beautiful objects. This tour reveals how archives and art intersect, offering rarely seen items alongside familiar architectural plans, and providing new perspectives for art historical research.
16:00 Following Monuments on Film: Sculptures, Sculptors, and Exhibitions in Public Space
Exact location: Gárdonyi Albert Room
Since the second half of the 20th century, a public monument supervisory body was responsible for overseeing and approving monuments in Budapest. The related documents, including short films, were transferred to the archive from the Budapest Gallery. Highlights include portraits of well-known sculptors and films presenting public sculptures. The screening features a selection, including insights into public opinion—for example, what did people think of the Marx and Engels statue?
Wednesday, 24 September 2025
10:00 “Wunderkammer”: Unknown Curiosities (thematic archive tour)
Meeting point: Aula
On this thematic tour, visitors encounter rarely researched and lesser-known sources offering unique insights into everyday urban life. Private documents, children’s drawings, works by amateur artists, and other hidden treasures emerge from the shelves—forming a kind of modern “cabinet of curiosities” that reveals the intersections of daily life and art.
11:30 – 13:00 Guided tour of the “Budapest 75” exhibition
Exact location: Aula
The creation of Greater Budapest was preceded by decades of planning and debate. The surrounding towns and villages had their own local governments, identities, and cultural lives, but their development was shaped by their close connection to the capital. Several proposals were made before 1950 to formalize this relationship. The exhibition offers a glimpse into this exciting process.
14:00 Lightwriters: Photography as an Archival Source (thematic archive tour)
Meeting point: Aula
Photography is one of the most powerful historical sources: through its visual impact, it brings the past to life. Invented in the 19th century, photography became both an art form and a tool of documentation. Old photographs tell the story of Budapest in a vivid way—showing streets, buildings, events, and people.
On this thematic tour, visitors explore archival photo treasures and learn how light-writing became a chronicle of city history. Our restorers will introduce the secrets of photo restoration, and participants can also try out the fascinating cyanotype technique.
16:00 – 18:00 Mini-Conference – Thematic Lectures at Budapest City Archives
Exact location: Gárdonyi Albert Room
This block of lectures presents case studies, topics in art and architectural history, and tips on research methods for interested visitors.
Schedule:
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16:00 – The Budapest Time Machine and the Basics of Archival Research from an Art Historian’s Perspective (Emese Kún)
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16:30 – The History of the Hungarian Holy Land (Aurél Biró)
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17:00 – Landscape Architecture Plans in the Budapest City Archives (Attila Brunner)
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17:30 – Vaszary versus Ernst Lajos – The Lawsuits of János Vaszary (Erika Garami)
- 18:00 – Closing remarks
No registration is required for any of the events.
Guided Tour of the “Gottermayer Galaxy” Exhibition at the György Ráth Villa, Museum of Applied Arts (MNM KK)
Date: 23 September 2025, 15:00
Venue: Museum of Applied Arts (MNM KK), György Ráth Villa, 1068 Budapest, Városligeti fasor 12.
Craft, art, mechanisation – seemingly contradictory terms. The new temporary exhibition of the Museum of Applied Arts explores the life of Nándor Gottermayer (1852–1924), a master bookbinder whose work harmonised these three concepts with equal importance. The GOTTERMAYER GALAXY reflects not only on the virtual world of books—the so-called Gutenberg Galaxy—but also on the physical process of bookmaking. It presents a “galaxy” created by the collaboration of artists, illustrators, book designers, and bookbinders.
The exhibition connects to the bicentenary of the birth of Mór Jókai (1825–1904) with an unusual thematic focus: introducing the broader public to Nándor Gottermayer, who worked in the background on important Jókai editions. As a highly skilled bookbinding artist, Gottermayer worked for prominent bibliophiles, including György Ráth. His bindings are housed in the Vatican Library and the imperial collections of Vienna. His virtuoso bindings—decorated with gold tooling, leather mosaic, and painting—won awards at numerous domestic and international exhibitions. A partial reconstruction of the bookbinding workshop led by Álmos Jaschik (1885–1950) at the School of Applied Drawing presents traditional tools and key working processes of the craft.
Storage Tour of the Historic Monument Collection of MÉM MDK
Date: 23 September 2025, 17:00–18:30
Venue: Hungarian Museum of Architecture and Monument Protection Documentation Centre (MÉM MDK), Jász Street Site, 1135 Budapest, Jász utca 33–35.
The Department of Monument Documentation of MÉM MDK opens its storage for a guided tour. Visitors will get a glimpse into the operation and storage conditions of a more than 150-year-old heritage collection, and see rare books, unique drawings, photographs, and documents related to iconic monuments of Hungary’s built heritage. The materials produced during surveys and restorations provide insight into the history of these monuments over the past century and a half.
Church Museums Today – Questions and Realities | Lutheran National Museum
Date: 24 September 2025, 11:00
Venue: Lutheran National Museum, 1052 Budapest, Deák tér 4.
A mini-conference organised by the Association of Church Museologists. Through three lectures and a roundtable discussion, we examine the current status and role of church museums in preserving and exploring cultural heritage. The programme reflects on the past four decades of change and launches a dialogue with a focus on interdisciplinary exchange.
No registration is required.
The Archival Palace in the “Landscape” | National Archives of Hungary
Date: 24 September 2025, 09:00–17:00
Venue: National Archives of Hungary, 1014 Budapest, Bécsi kapu tér 2–4.
On 24 September, the National Archives of Hungary will hold an open day. Visitors can take part in a special walking tour and a lecture unveiling the hidden secrets of the Archival Palace. The exhibition titled 1945 – In the Crossfire will be open all day, with guided curatorial tours also available.
Programme highlights:
11:00 Guided tour of the exhibition “1945 – In the Crossfire”
13:00 Guided tour of the exhibition “1945 – In the Crossfire”
15:00 Diplomatic Stroll in the Castle District – Guided walk with Dániel Miklós
Registration required:
https://mnl.booked4.us/public/book?CalendarId=5&Culture=hu&Mode=iframe&SchemaName=mnl&HideCompanyInfo=true
16:00 The Archival Palace in the “Landscape” – Lecture by historian Csaba Katona
Registration required:
https://mnl.booked4.us/public/book?CalendarId=5&Culture=hu&Mode=iframe&SchemaName=mnl&HideCompanyInfo=true
Visit to the Historical Photographic Collection of the Hungarian National Museum
Date: 24 September 2025, 16:00
Venue: Hungarian National Museum, Historical Photographic Collection, 1088 Budapest, Múzeum krt. 14–16.
Museum curators Éva Fisli and Zsuzsanna Szegedy-Maszák will present rarely seen items from the Historical Photographic Collection, offering insights into lesser-known but significant periods of photographic history. Visitors will study original artifacts created with early photographic processes, such as daguerreotypes, tintypes, analogue photo albums, and autochrome plates. The tour also discusses 19th-century photo colouring and retouching techniques, as well as historical uses of photography. The programme concludes with a look at contemporary photography, presenting examples in the collection that connect to today’s analogue revival.
Lecture by József Mélyi and Pop-up Tour of the Exhibition “Brick Studies: Collapsed by Evening, Rebuilt by Morning” by Dorottya Szonja Koltay and Anna Seress | Kassák Museum
Date: 24 September 2025, 18:00–19:30
Venue: Kassák Museum, MNM KK PIM, 1033 Budapest, Fő tér 1.
The Memory of Kőmíves Kelemenné
This lecture explores the exhibition in the context of individual and collective memory, focusing on the concept of commemoration. How is the story of Kőmíves Kelemen and his wife remembered collectively? Can the fortress of Déva be considered a monument—and if so, whose monument is it?
Registration via email:
In Search of Our Protected Shops • Nostalgic Downtown Walking Tour
Date: 25 September 2025, 15:30
Meeting point: 1053 Budapest, Ferenciek tere 10. (in front of the Paris Court)
Organiser: Hungarian Museum of Trade and Tourism (MNMKK)
To celebrate the 150th anniversary of the unification of Pest, Buda, and Óbuda, the Hungarian Museum of Trade and Tourism invites visitors on a unique nostalgic walking tour. As a museum of the trade and hospitality professions, we offer a program where historical context nourishes the mind, while the offerings of historical shops nourish body and soul. We’ll trace the footsteps of protected businesses in Budapest’s downtown, recalling their glorious past and experiencing their present-day appearance firsthand. Participants will discover a magical world where past and present meet. The tour begins at a location once visited by an archduchess and concludes at Budapest’s most iconic and prestigious confectionery, where generations have passed down tradition and craftsmanship.
Registration:
Curator's Guided Tour of the Exhibition “Puzzle of 77 + 7 Works” | Kiscell Museum
Date: 28 September 2025, 15:00
Venue: Budapest History Museum – Kiscell Museum, 1037 Budapest, Kiscelli utca 108.
The Municipal Gallery has no permanent exhibition—and if it ever did, it would be in a constantly evolving and changing form. This exhibition was born out of the desire to present the collection and reflects new ways of thinking about museums. Some works were previously shown in collection exhibitions, but most are newly selected, with recurring themes such as war and peace, and voluntary versus imposed identities. The exhibition title refers to the way the artworks are arranged: historical and contemporary pieces are thematically connected, forming a structure reminiscent of a puzzle.
Curator’s Tour by József Készman of the Exhibition “Big Bang. Expanding Collection Horizons” | Ludwig Museum
Date: 23 September 2025, 15:00
Venue: Ludwig Museum – Museum of Contemporary Art, 1095 Budapest, Komor Marcell u. 1.
Since its founding in 1989, the museum’s collection has grown by more than a thousand works. Its recurring collection exhibitions are curated selections built around specific themes and viewpoints. The works, spanning nearly seventy years, come from different periods and contexts. While original meanings are preserved, the historical distance enables new connections to be discovered and highlighted.
The selection doesn’t strictly follow art historical categories; instead, it focuses on broader thematic frameworks and motifs. Among the twelve sections, the curator explores topics like the impact of pop culture on art, concept as artwork, hyperrealism beyond technical virtuosity, and the self-contradictory idea of the post-contemporary. Visitors are invited to reflect on the role of street art and graffiti, the significance of motion and machinery, and the emergence of ecological art, which extends beyond gallery walls into public discourse about the environment.
The term “Big Bang” refers not only to the cosmological origin of the universe but also metaphorically to the dynamic expansion of the museum’s collection since its founding—growing in size, scope, and geography, now including regions like Southeast Europe and countries such as Albania, Kosovo, and Ukraine, as well as a more diverse group of artists.
In this context, the “Big Bang” becomes a metaphor for the collection’s origin and ongoing expansion.
Painted Wooden Ceilings and Gallery Panels in the Ecclesiastical Collection | Storage Dive at OMRRK
Date: 23 September 2025, 17:00
Venue: National Museum Storage and Restoration Centre (OMRRK), Building ‘A’, 1135 Budapest, Szabolcs utca 33–35 (also accessible from Vágány utca)
Organiser: Museum of Ethnography
Storage Manager: Dr Krisztina Sedlmayr
Meeting point: Reception of Building A
The Museum of Ethnography’s Ecclesiastical Collection preserves numerous elements from dismantled church interiors. This program focuses on the painted wooden ceilings and gallery panels of Calvinist churches from the Great Plain, Transdanubia, and Transylvania. These 18th–19th-century carpentry works offer a glimpse into the stunning beauty and richness of these former sacred spaces. Visitors will see the preserved elements of the mezzanine from the Reformed Church in Mezőcsát—one of the finest late examples of Hungarian floral Renaissance style.
Ticket purchase and registration
DETAILS & PRACTICAL INFO:
Online ticket purchase is required and also serves as registration.
Programme ticket: 3000 HUF/person (no discounts available)
Please note:
- A photo ID is required for the visitor pass at the venue
- The programme is primarily recommended for adults
- Entry to the storage areas will not be allowed more than 10 minutes after the start
- Security and documentation footage may be recorded on-site
- No photography or video recording is permitted in the storage areas
- Public street parking available
- Accessible by public transport: trolleybus 75 or 79M to Vágány utca / Dózsa György út stop. From Vágány utca: buses 30, 30A, 105, 230