Celebrated graphic artist and designer of the iconic Zoom, István Bányai was a defining figure in the history of press and magazines. Known for his work with The New Yorker, Rolling Stone, New York, and Playboy, he would have turned 75 this year. To honour his legacy, his alma mater, the Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design (MOME), will present a selection of his work in an exhibition this November, offering a contemporary perspective on his oeuvre for the first time in Hungary.

The exhibition features a diverse range of projects, including a pencil sharpener for children, a hearing aid reimagined as jewellery, an AI-powered knitting machine, an IoT system designed to ensure the health and safety of residents, as well as several urban revitalisation projects – all created by this year's winners of the Stefan Lengyel Scholarship of Excellence. Entitled Sequences of Ideas: Shared Visions in Design, this third opportunity for the scholarship recipients to debut their works invites the public to engage through an interactive concept. The installation itself echoes the central themes, utilising recycled materials, local production methods, and modular components.

Opportunities created for young people will positively impact all of our futures A new chapter is beginning in the life of MOME. The institution, which has played a definitive role in Hungary's design culture in addition to being an innovator in higher education, is set to elevate its operations further through the "University of the Future" programme. The new rector of MOME, designer Pál Koós, began his term on August 1st, supported in an innovative manner by Dr Petra Aczél, communication and media researcher, as Vice-Rector for Excellence, and Lili Érmezei, photographer and organisational psychologist, as Vice-Rector for Strategy and Development. What new leadership competencies and formats are required by a university undergoing transformation? What do a highly effective organisation and a perfectly designed three-legged stool have in common?

The Foundation for Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design has appointed former President of the UNESCO General Conference and member of the World Academy of Art and Science Katalin Bogyay to its Board of Trustees.

How can design address the issues of the future? What is the role of design in society and a designer’s job in our age? Where will design expertise become most crucial in the coming years?

A MOME Campusán mutatták be legkülönlegesebb alkotásaikat

Providing an opportunity for 23 young talents from Hungary’s poorest regions to pursue creative studies, the Tomorrow belongs to you – For the creative talents of the future programme launched on 9 February with a host of community and professional activities, and a tour of Budapest.

Next year, Hungary’s first astronaut will be launched into space. How will space research change the world 20 years from now? How and what can the universe teach us? These are some of the questions The Jump into the future! 2024 creative competition of the Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design asks, inviting teams of 7th to 10th grade students or friends from Hungary and the other side of the border who are interested in the future, are full of ideas, and would enjoy designing a science fiction item or service.

The 17th Moholy-Nagy Award was presented by József Fülöp to film director, screenwriter, and professor emeritus of the Department of Film, Television and Digital Media of the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), and art director of the Sundance Filmmakers Lab Gyula Gazdag.

His films are regularly screened at the Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design (MOME). With the power to captivate every generation, they paint an authentic historical portrait of Hungary before the regime change. Gyula Gazdag is a film director, screenwriter, professor emeritus of the Department of Film, Television and Digital Media of the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), and Artistic Director of the Sundance Filmmakers Lab founded by Robert Redford. He was named one of the ten best film teachers in the United States by Daily Variety in 2010. This year, he has joined the ranks of the Moholy-Nagy Award holders, and will be presented with the award for his formative educational work on 30 November by Rector József Fülöp.

Drought, famine, war, and global warming have become everyday reality. What could we do to help these take a more positive turn? The Social Design Network 2023 conference focuses on crisis and emergency management whether natural, social, or political. Use of the social design toolset can yield realistic solutions and spark positive changes, as discussed at the On the Verge: Design in Times of Crisis international conference at MOME.

You can get a fresh perspective on the challenges of our shared future through the concepts of young designers at the exhibition featuring works by this year’s Stefan Lengyel Scholarship of Excellence recipients of the Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design (MOME).

This year’s Fashion Show, debuting the latest generation of fashion and textile designers of the Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design (MOME) concluded with resounding success, drawing a full house twice in a row. In keeping with its traditions of and in sync with international fashion week calendars, MOME organised its unusual fashion event and exhibition in the first week of November, once again attracting a great deal of interest. The creations of the young designers this year were inspired by the circularity of life and materials, with a focus on recycled and biodegradable materials.

What would be your reaction to your favourite food product disappearing from the shelves or to no longer being able to grow your favourite delicacy in your vegetable garden? Would you accept or even prefer a new alternative? Would you be embarrassed by or delighted to try a dish of floating islands made with cow’s milk not coming from a cow and flavoured with vanilla synthesised from plastic waste? These and similar questions were explored by participants of the Eat for the Future! course launched jointly by Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design (MOME) and the Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences (MATE) in October 2023 with the sponsorship of Food Wave.

As a leading design and innovation hub of the CEE region, the mission of Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design (MOME) is to create opportunities for high school talents in Hungary’s poorest regions by putting a creative career within their reach. In what is one of the most important social responsibility commitments in its history, the university announced the ‘Tomorrow belongs to you – For the creative talents of the future’, a comprehensive, nation-wide scholarship and talent programme, earlier this year. Following up on its undertaking, MOME is sending out a team of experts to visit high schools in disadvantaged towns and villages across the country to meet the students in person. Nomination and application for the programme are ongoing.

The works created by the latest generation of product design students of Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design (MOME), presented at the S/ALON BUDAPEST home trend fair on 22 to 24 September at the Budapest Arena all share a focus on the passion for the traditions of handcrafting, sustainability, innovation, and emotional connection. Uniquely in Hungary, the fair showcases the latest home decor trends, furniture, lighting solutions, flooring and wall coverings, home textiles, and accessories in extraordinary interiors, and is centered around the relationship of design and nature.

A team of MOME students have won first place at the CheckINN Revitalisator competition. First launched by the CheckINN Turisztikai Innovációmenedzsment Kft and MOME last year, the competition invites university and college talents to seek solutions for the reuse of rust zone sites in teamwork. From the nearly 30 teams, INDOOHÁZ received the first prize for giving new life to abandoned railway water reservoirs as bivouacs for backpackers.

A dream nurtured for over 50 years has come true: Media Design students of the Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design (MOME) created a captivating visual narrative to world-famous Hungarian contemporary composer Péter Eötvös’s Mese (Tale). The premiere took place at the Intermezzo Festival co-organised by MOME and the House of Music for the second time this year, as part of a unique collaboration between the House of Music, MOME, the BMC, and the composer.

Deep, sensitive, fresh – In sync with international fashion week calendars, top fashion and textile designer talents will claim the limelight in early October at the two-day traditional MOME Fashion Show on the Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design (MOME) Campus. The new generation has also been greatly influenced by global developments such as the energy and climate crisis, resulting in a strong focus on sustainability, innovative new materials, diversity, and inclusion in their works.

The Intermezzo Festival will take place for the second time this year, launched by MOME and the House of Music, to the delight of all music, light painting, and animation lovers. The purpose of the event series created by the students, in addition to providing an opportunity for emerging musicians to make their debut, is to connect music with a design-oriented audience. The House of Music, Hungary offers an ideal backdrop for the electronic musical and inspiring visual accompaniment.

A community garden, pond and memorial park - new features brighten up the MOME campus, which is unlike any other in the region. Development work will start as early as this autumn. The expansion and renewal of the green areas has been planned by outstanding ecologists and landscape architects, but the university’s own students will also actively take part in this long-term project. Since the MOME campus is a community park and belongs to everyone, the newly developed recreational green areas will be open to locals and visitors to enjoy.

Launched jointly by the Foundation for Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design and the University, the Aurum Futuri excellence awards have been presented for the first time in MOME’s history. Nominations for the awards available for MOME’s most outstanding teachers and researchers can be made by both staff and students. The name of the award is a reference to the activities and values of the teachers and researchers shaping the future – the ‘gold of future’. This year’s Aurum Futuri excellence awards went to senior lecturer Fanni Csernátony DLA and Senior Researcher and Head of the Social Design Hub of the MOME Innovation Center Dr. Bori Fehér.

Sustainability plays an undeniably crucial role in design. That is why our Design Institute chose it as one of the four main themes of the 2023 diploma works, next to ‘Craft’, ‘Social’ and ‘Emotional’. The following four diploma works explored sustainable concepts in real-life situations.

What are the five essential points Academy Award-winning director of the amazing documentary Free Solo Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi suggested to young creators? How does she feel about having audacious dreams, handling rejection, and practicing self-advocacy? She shared some of her thoughts with graduating MA students from her experience at MOME’s graduation ceremony. Meanwhile, Milan-born architect and legendary curator of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York Paola Antonelli provided BA students with important takeaway, encouraging them to learn how to surf as a great way to develop their instincts. She also talked about the legacy left by great design icons including László Moholy-Nagy.  Both speeches from the 2023 graduation ceremony of Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design are now available on the university’s YouTube channel. 

In addition to a 3D printer, a FabLab workshop, and books, takeaways for the winners of the JUMP INTO THE FUTURE! competition also include life-changing experiences and career orientation support. The winning project of the creative competition, the Hermin school concept offers a comprehensive reform of the education of the Great Hungarian Plain. Second and third place runner ups are team Batu Khan from Budapest with project Futurarium ­– The museum of the future, and team Glacies Oscula with a concept that would use bats for pollination.

MOME launches a creative industries scholarship programme for disadvantaged youth. Currently, only a small fraction of high school students in the poorest regions of Hungary is given a genuine chance to pursue design and art higher education. What is the Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design (MOME) as a major design and innovation hub in the region doing to change that? Launch a comprehensive, country-wide scholarship and talent programme to deliver on one of its most important social responsibility commitments.

President of the Foundation for the Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design, Gergely Böszörményi Nagy answered the most important questions about the latest remarkable milestones in the life of the university, the process and results of the rector election and the plans for the near future.

What is the level of design maturity among businesses in the Central Eastern European region – in other words, how extensively do they harness design to increase growth and business performance?

What will the future bring in education, healthcare, or transportation? What will life be like in 2043? These are the questions that participants of the Jump into the future! creative competition can once again reflect on together with MOME teachers. With help from the university’s teachers, they can develop their designs as part of a several-week-long intensive mentoring process.

Complex, progressive, innovative and visually stunning designs were presented by the shortlisted teams of the Jump into the future! creative competition launched by the Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design for teenage students. Judging by the entries, today’s teenagers have a clear understanding of the challenges facing us and are proactively preparing to address them.

Gergely Böszörményi-Nagy, President of MOME Foundation, announced important news at the late-April meeting of the Senate. We asked him about these in a short interview.

2021, the Foundation for Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design, the maintainer of the institution, asked the university to ensure the launch of at least two English-language MA programmes per year for three years from autumn 2022. The first two MA courses in English will be Photography and Interaction Design.

The Foundation for Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design has approved the university's 2022 budget, which contains a comprehensive salary increase on a scale unprecedented in the history of MOME. The process of renewing the institution has reached a new milestone, announced Gergely Böszörményi-Nagy, President of the Foundation.

From now on, Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design will also focus on developing students’ entrepreneurial skills. The one and a half year programme will also address up-to-date methodologies in market research, positioning and sales, and will be an essential part of the education for every BA student from 2022 on.

A Moholy-Nagy Művészeti Egyetemért Alapítvány nyár eleje óta tárgyalt a kormánnyal a MOME költségvetésének növeléséről. A folyamat a napokban lezárult, az eredményekről Böszörményi-Nagy Gergely alapítványi elnököt kérdeztük.

Seventy students entered the second round of the Stefan Lengyel Excellence Scholarship, sixteen of whom won the HUF 150,000 per month grant for one semester. Above this, the winning students will have the opportunity to represent the university as ambassadors of the respective department on international and Hungarian exhibitions, professional events.

MOME and the Hungarian Intellectual Property Office (HIPO) start a mindset shaping cooperation.

A year has passed since MOME started to operate as an institution maintained by a foundation. Portfolio interviewed Gergely Böszörményi-Nagy, President of the Board of Trustees of the Foundation for Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design, about the experiences of the past year, the long-term objectives, the process of the model change, and how efficiently the university can cooperate with the business sector.

Moholy-Nagy University of Art Design Budapest (MOME) takes its research & development activity to a new level. An international call for applications was launched to appoint the head of the MOME Innovation Centre, in response to which 160 professionals submitted applications from 5 continents. The young winner joins from the Baltics, globally renowned for their innovation results.