2024 – Learning from Nature? – Botany

Every edition of the Debrecen International Artist in Residence (DAIR), which has been operating since 2006, is built around a theme. In addition to creation, the symposium’s workflow emphasizes collective thinking – this is reflected in the symposium’s programs, which are open to the public.

This year, we summed up our theme with the question and suggestion: “Learning from Nature?”.

The focus of this year’s Artist in Residence program is on the broadly conceived discipline of botany. Many significant moments in the history of botany in Hungary can be traced back to the city of Debrecen, such as the Herbarium (1578), annotated by Péter Juhász Méliusz, considered the first herbarium in Hungarian, and the two-volume Hungarian Herbarium by Sámuel Diószegi and Mihály Fazekas, which, according to Linné’s system (Debrecen, 1807), is the first publication of modern Hungarian botany.

In addition to creative and research work, this year’s DAIR will be enriched with lectures and discussions. The workshop will be held in the ground floor spaces of the MODEM Center for Modern and Contemporary Art. We want to build on this visibility during the program, for example, by opening the workspace to visitors for a short time in the afternoons. Following these openings, in the early evening, interested visitors can meet renowned and respected artists and thinkers from both the domestic and international scenes.

The program, organized by MODEM, will conclude in the fall with a comprehensive exhibition and a conference related to the theme. The results will be documented in a catalog like previous years, containing theoretical texts and interviews.

Invited artists:

Centrala (Małgorzata Kuciewicz & Simone De Iacobis), Daniel Godinez Nívon, Illés Zsófia Szonja, Kortmann-Járay Katalin, Kuzma Eszter Júlia, Thea Lazar, Mendreczky Karina, Gaja Mežnarić Osole, Szabó Bálint (Decolonize Your Mind Society), Szabó Nóra

Artistic directors:

Horányi Attila, Süli-Zakar Szabolcs, Török Krisztián Gábor, Vékony Dorottya

Our Members

Bálint Szabó

Bálint Szabó is a composer, musician, curator and interdisciplinary researcher. He completed his doctoral studies at the Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design. His practice-based art research is entitled Speculative…

Katalin Kortmann-Járay & Karina Mendreczky

The work of the artist duo Katalin Kortmann-Járay and Karina Mendreczky explores the impact of culture and current environmental factors on human perception. Through an animist approach rooted in ecological…

Daniel Godinez Nívon

A Mexican-born artist currently living in the Netherlands, whose work is related to community processes of knowledge sharing and education. For 12 years he has been creating works in context-specific…

Nóra Szabó

In line with the theoretical background of the chosen subject, analogue and digital materials are combined in his art. Her research interests, within the framework of posthuman aesthetics and visual…

Thea Lazăr

Her art work encompasses a wide range of materials and techniques, including textiles and embroidery, multimedia installations, video and 3D animation. Her work focuses on storytelling and the possible connections…

Zsófia Szonja Illés

She is a multidisciplinary designer and researcher, working with ever-changing design and participatory methodologies, mainly in the fields of placemaking and ecological design. She graduated from The Glasgow School of…

Eszter Júlia Kuzma

In the art of Eszter Júlia Kuzma, we can observe the interconnection of ancient symbols and our digital world. Her works are mostly concerned with the triad of nature-transcendence-virtuality, explored…

Gaja Mežnarić Osole

Socially engaged designer living in Ljubljana. She graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Ljubljana with a BA in Visual Communication and went on to study for…

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