Five fascinating exhibitions can be seen around Lake Balaton this month, with subjects ranging from volcanoes to retro summers.
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Balaton summers – Photographs of Famous Writers, 1950s-1970s
This exhibition displays photographs of renowned Hungarian writers enjoying their summers at Lake Balaton. Some, such as Ágnes Nemes Nagy and Géza Ottlik, are captured sitting in a boat, while János Pilinszky is deep in thought on the terrace of Rege Confectionery. The collection belongs to the Petőfi Literary Museum. The images, covering the period from the 1950s to the 1970s, can be seen at Balatonfüred’s Vaszary Gallery until July 14.
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The Mystical Volcano – Anna Lesznai Meets Kati Zoób
A 20th-century poet and artist meets with a contemporary fashion designer at this exhibition on display at Balatonfüred’s Vaszary Gallery, eliminating the dimension of time, creating a unique dialogue. This artistic rendezvous between Anna Lesznai (1885-1966) and Kati Zoób is immersive and enchanting. It runs until May 26.
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Mitakuye oyasin – All Are Related
Revered troubadour Tamás Cseh and three friends once camped as American Indians near Lake Balaton in 1961, inspired by the novels of Karl May and James Fenimore Cooper. Today, a community of Bakony Indians lives on as a result of this spontaneous outing. At first it was simply a form of escapism into a world ruled by the values of the plains.
The tradition didn’t stop when the musician passed away in 2009 and hundreds of would-be Indians still goes camping at Bakony. This exhibition at the Open Air Ethnographic Museum is all about this group and runs until November 3.
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A century of photography – The Wonders of the Analogue Era
The collection of Lajos Rigó (1939-2013) from Balatongyörök consists of hundreds of cameras. It all started when he began to repair them, first from ads in newspapers, then from the internet. Some of those on display are unique and numbered, ranging from the early 1900s to the last generation of analogue cameras.
The exhibition shows Cmena, Zorkij, FED, Yashica, Zenit, and Yoigtländer Pentax machines, as well as old and new Nikon and Praktica models. The oldest camera on display is a Lumière one from 1880. The exhibit is housed in the marble hall of the Festetics Palace until December 31.
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Lajos Veszeli – The Mystery of Lake Balaton
Lajos Veszeli, a painter from Balatonalmádi, said that the mystery of Lake Balaton enchanted him – it’s something he couldn’t stop thinking about. Born in 1945, the artist captured the thousand faces of the lake in watercolours and oil paintings. The exhibition opened on May 10 and will be on display until October 3 at Badacsony’s Egry József Museum.
