Unbelievable but true – the historical Hungarian photo masters are largely unknown to the world at large.
Hopefully, this will change in the near future. The works by Hungarian photography masters are exhibited in Telliskivi Creative City in Tallinn until February 6, 2022.
This is a traveling exhibition that has already been shown in Los Angeles, Paris, Hamburg, and Prague. Tallinn is the first stop in Northern Europe.
The curator of the exhibition is Ágnes Bakk, with whom we talked about the exhibition, Hungarian street photography, and what makes it special.
How did you become interested in photography and street photography specifically?
I have been interested in photography since childhood. My father was an amateur photographer, and I grew up surrounded by cameras and photo albums. Street photography particularly fascinated me because it captures authentic moments of everyday life.
What makes Hungarian street photography special?
Hungarian street photography has a unique perspective shaped by the country’s complex 20th-century history. The photographers documented life under different political regimes, capturing both the struggles and the everyday beauty of Hungarian life.
Can you tell us about some of the photographers in this exhibition?
The exhibition features works by several masters including György Kovács, István Huszár, and others who documented Hungarian life from the 1950s through the 1980s. Their photographs show a Budapest and Hungary that few outsiders knew.
These photographers worked in challenging conditions, often facing censorship and limitations on what they could photograph. Despite this, they created powerful and timeless images.
Why is it important to show this work today?
These photographs are historical documents that show a different era and way of life. They remind us of the power of photography to preserve memory and tell stories that might otherwise be forgotten.
For contemporary street photographers, these works offer inspiration and lessons in seeing the extraordinary in the ordinary.
The exhibition is open at Telliskivi Creative City until February 6, 2022. Admission is free.
