Hungarian Art World Assesses 16 Years of Fidesz Rule as New Government Takes Office
On June 2, 2026, a public initiative called Deep Cleaning in Progress took place at the Műcsarnok's steps in Budapest, marking a departure from the Viktor Orbán era. This period concluded when Hungarians ousted him and his Fidesz party on April 12, 2026, after 16 years in power. Under Fidesz, the Kunsthalle, once a premier contemporary art space, adopted a nationalist stance. Curator Katalin Székely pointed out that by 2014, the party had taken control of institutions like the Kunsthalle and Ludwig Museum. Collector Zsolt Somloi criticized selective sponsorship as a form of voluntary censorship. Since 2017, the Museum of Applied Arts has remained closed, while Budapest Pride 2025 attracted tens of thousands. This summer, the New National Gallery project was canceled, leaving a vacant pit in Városliget.
Key facts
- Hungarians voted Viktor Orbán and Fidesz out of power on 12 April 2026 after 16 years
- Artists and curators held a public cleaning of the Műcsarnok steps in Budapest on 2 June 2026, titled Deep Cleaning in Progress
- Little Warsaw showed The Body of Nefertiti in the Hungarian pavilion at the 2003 Venice Biennale
- By 2014 the Kunsthalle and Ludwig Museum had new leaders and programmes, and many pre-2010 staff left or were sidelined
- A 2021 child protection law was used in 2023 to fire National Museum director László Simon over an LGBTQ+ photography exhibition
- OFF-Biennále Budapest has been held five times since 2014
- The Museum of Applied Arts has been closed since 2017 for renovation
- The Sanaa-designed New National Gallery project in Városliget was cancelled in summer 2026
Entities
Artists
- Viktor Orbán
- Péter Magyar
- Katalin Székely
- Zsolt Somloi
- Zsolt Miklósvölgyi
- Lorinc Redei
- László Simon
- Gideon Horváth
- Katalin Spengler
- Kinga Bódi
- Robert Gabris
- Zsolt Petrányi
- József Mélyi
- Little Warsaw
- Donald Trump
Institutions
- Fidesz
- Műcsarnok
- Kunsthalle
- Ludwig Museum
- Central European University
- Magyar Művészeti Akadémia
- Museum of Applied Arts
- acb Galéria
- OFF-Biennále Budapest
- National Museum
- Museum of Fine Arts
- Biennale de Lyon
- Venice Biennale
- Sanaa
- Hungarian University of Fine Arts
- University of Texas at Austin
- Budapest Pride
- The Art Newspaper
Locations
- Hungary
- Budapest
- Buda Castle
- Városliget
- Danube
- Felcsút
- Lyon
- France
- Venice
- Italy
- Austin
- United States