In 2006, the university adopted the name of László Moholy-Nagy, and on the initiative of former rector Gábor Kopek, the Moholy-Nagy Award was established. The recognition serves to communicate the still-relevant thoughts and ideals of Moholy-Nagy, one of the leading lights of the Bauhaus movement, to figures in Hungarian and international art and academic scene, setting his ethos as a model for future generations to follow.

The award recipients and the university community are connected through creativity, integrative thinking, intellectual innovation, and responsibility. So who are they after all?

Moholy-Nagy Award winners include archaeologist and art historian Hattula Moholy-Nagy, art philosopher Hannes Böhringer, art historian Krisztina Passuth, curator Karole P. B. Vail, and art historian Olivér Botár. They are also linked by their contribution to raising awareness of the significance of Moholy-Nagy’s oeuvre, and improving understanding of its influence on contemporary culture. This helped preserve the legacy of the university’s eponym, and in turn, build MOME’s intellectual base.

Laureates include several groundbreaking professors previously teaching at MOME’s predecessor, including architect and interior designer István Gergely, music historian Imre Földes, architects Zsófia Csomay and Péter Reimholz, product designers Stefan Lengyel and Ernő Rubik. Throughout their decades-long teaching career they have nurtured generations of designers, enacted education reforms, and made significant contributions to transcending the boundaries of art fields and gaining acceptance for interdisciplinary thinking, as demonstrated by physicist and network researcher Albert-László Barabási, choreographer Pál Frenák, graphic designer Kálmán Tibor, poet and literary translator Ádám Nádasdy, trombonist László Gőz, and director Balázs Kovalik. Their critical and responsible thinking is exemplary for the MOME community.

In 2023, another artist of similar calibre will receive the award – stay tuned for further updates.