We are not ducks on a pond but ships at sea

All are welcome at the book launch party of

We Are Not Ducks on a Pond, but Ships at Sea – independent art initiatives, Budapest 1989-2009

edited by Impex Contemporary Art Provider.

Péter György theorist with the editors Rita Kálmán and Katarina Sevic discusses the structure of the book, the criteria for topic selection, as well as the editing process.

The event will also be attended by other Impex members and the authors of the book.

Music will be provided by DJ Káosz.

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The independent art scene is rather difficult to pinpoint: its boundaries and definitions are continuously changing as a function of the political, economic and cultural environment.

The book entitled We are Not Ducks on a Pond, but Ships at Sea offers readers a hitherto untold story: it endeavors to introduce the independent art scene of Budapest in the past 20 years, mapping out its schemes of organisation, its actors and spaces, in an attempt to understand its autonomy and transience as well as its relationship with the economic and ideological frameworks of society.

In the 128-page volume, Nina Czegledy, Dóra Hegyi, members of Impex, Jan Kennis, Péter Lowas, József Mélyi, Gergely Nagy, Levente Polyák and Katalin Timár explore the concepts of correction / informality / centre-periphery / chaos – order / community and self-organisation in the form of essays and (self-)interviews.

The book focuses on a special and elusive segment of contemporary Hungarian art and culture through short texts and numerous archive photographs documenting 57 initiatives.

The volume can be purchased at the book launch at a reduced price (HUF 2000), the price is .