Rákóczi spring revival 2018

Beginning with March 2018, we straightened out our winter visions; lined up Rákóczi Cartel, signed lease contracts, whitewashed, cleaned up and moved in the vacant stores around Rákóczi Market.

Rákóczi Cartel is an open association of creative small businesses, that are sensitive to their social and built environment, the “Csarnok” Quarter of 8th District. We aim to involve locals, organize community programs, promote an inclusive, cultural-based, non-exponential development, that respects the local scene. In April, we organized together a Cartel opening, which melted together elements of street music, led puppet show, exhibitions, street reoccupation, decorating and socializing. Cartel members are:

BRFK Gallery, is an outsider photographer club focusing on temporary exhibitions. The gallery’s community-ness includes donation based use of photo printer, coffee and fruit press machines.

BARTR Budapest Art Residency studio, is a collaboration between local and international artists and organizations via transdisciplinary art. 11 weeks, 11 selected artists, 1 final group exhibition. One of the BARTR studios and exhibition space was part of the Rákóczi Cartel and located just behind the market.

Verkstaden shop and silk screen studio, is a team of young graphic designers and freelance artists, which feature captivating, funny, thought-provoking, statement clothes and bags made with silk screen printing technique. It is important for them to express feminist, self-conscious and fair ideas, and to promote environmental awareness. They connect with locals through public workshops.

Hurrikan Press, is an independent publisher focising on risograph technique, and brought many images to life from fine art to graphic magazines. If you’ve already got 8OLDAL, Mindspace’s alternative 8th district magazine, you’ve met the typical visual world of this technology. Hurrikan Press is offers its service and workshops to the ones interested in this classic and progressive printing technique.

UbikEklektik Office, the team organizes its mini-festivals and communities along a special spirit, where environmental awareness and human focus are the base. The all-artistic nature is indispensable, including all creative souls, be it a musician, a painter, or a media artist, to find the essential points of attachment.

Mindspace Pop-up Office, is a non-profit organization focusing on urbanism, culture-based neighbourhood development and event organization. Now laying its efforts into the revitalization of ‘Csarnok’ negyed and its heart, the Rákóczi Market.

Right after Cartel Opening we flowed into Budapest100 with KÉK, a civil urban festival, opening to public squares this year. Meetings with locals and institutions brought a weekend loaded with public programs. Mindspace, getting inspired from the festival’s base concept of opened houses, created a reality sound collage, ‘Rákóczi Hangreality’. The unusual soundtracks let us entering the hidden stories, that happen behind the walls of Rákóczi Square and receive something sound wise that is usually not accessible - or surely not like this. The participants got a headset and a map to wander around with. The sound walk scraped up different layers of the neighbourhood’s history and present; intrigues, gossips, music, clatter of plates, murmurs of voices and such. There was an opened call for citizens to send sound elements with the location of recording, that our voice sculptor, David Somló fitted in the big picture.

At the same time, we wanted to be present not only around, but inside the market too, so from end of March we organize biweekly, the Rákóczi Breakfast. The concept follows the typical community breakfast set up: together with Eldorádó (local food stand), we provide tables, armchairs, toaster, coffee, sugar, napkins and such. Other breakfast essentials are bought locally by the people, who join us; basically anything placed on the table is shared. Elders are the most surprised with this idea, some shy off with a vague smile while others return with a half a kilo of tomato.

Hard to put all, what is happening into words, but we try. From March we published 8oldal, an urban samizdat about the Eight District and its currently forming or indefatigable places. Balancing between humor and seriousness, we reveal the eight’s places, characters, past, and sometimes ourselves.

Moving into summer, we are preparing for ‘Rákóczi Vakáczió’. There are kids here, who couldn’t leave the city for summer holidays, so we want harvest from having our places and connections and somehow give back to them. The vacation is for 6-14 year-olds. There will be plenty of programs in four days in August; silk screening, street photography, newspaper making, risograph printing, Rákóczi rapping, music video and documentary shooting, cooking, going to playgrounds and suchs. We are very happy that the 4 free places grew to 9, as people offered financial support to our initiation. We co-create program elements with the Rákóczi Cartel members, and other local businesses, volunteers, and based on some playground gossips of the 8th district.