VII. UNDER500 INTERDISCIPLINARY ARTS FESTIVAL
The seventh edition is here. This year, a little differently.
Over the past few years, UNDER500 has grown into an independent, multidisciplinary meeting point where different genres, generations and creative worlds working in experimental, innovative and contemporary art come together. The festival was born during the pandemic, in response to a situation that independent artists are all too familiar with: how to create and work together when there are no stable institutional frameworks or structures behind us, and we often have to rely on our own resources and on each other. UNDER500 sees this situation not only as a challenge, but also as an opportunity: it seeks the freedom that comes with it – the freedom to experiment, try out new forms, move between genres and create something together that does not yet have a clearly defined place. Every year, the festival builds on this freedom while continuously changing and evolving along with us.
Schedule
The concept of UNDER500 evolves with us year by year: each time, the organising team looks for the questions and issues that are currently occupying us, the independent scene and the environment around us.
This year, we want to draw attention to how working outside institutional structures affects the creative process. There are, of course, difficulties that come with this: underfunding, uncertain circumstances, and often a complete lack of financial resources. But what can this same situation give us? Could the absence of established frameworks actually allow us to think and work more freely? Does it make it easier to try something new, take greater risks, and worry less about meeting predetermined expectations or established formats? What does it mean that we can change things even at the very last minute? What does this kind of working environment create within the artistic process, and where are our own limits? These are the questions we are putting to this year's invited artists.
This lack of fixed frameworks, and the liberating energy that emerges from it, is one of the foundations of this year's UNDER500. Instead of thinking in terms of specific works, we approached artists – several of whom have already participated in previous editions of the festival – who might be interested in these questions and willing to experiment with what happens when we loosen the familiar frameworks a little. This could take the form of an experiment, an idea, a participatory situation, a research project, several smaller works presented alongside one another, or even something that does not yet have a final form. What matters is that there is curiosity, a willingness to take risks, and something worth sharing with others within this freer space.
The artistic team for this year's festival has also been assembled in this spirit. The dance and performance programme has been curated by Adrienn Hód and Viktor Szeri, the music programme is led by András Molnár, and the exhibition has been curated by Gyula Muskovics, M. Kata Kállai and Tomi Páll. We were not looking for answers to a single theme, but wanted to bring different artistic perspectives and ways of thinking into dialogue with one another.
This year, we are also placing an even greater emphasis on making UNDER500 a truly multidisciplinary arts festival.
There will be concerts, an exhibition, performances, discussions, work-in-progress presentations and new works created specifically for the festival. Alongside finished performances, the programme will also feature projects that are still taking shape or emerge from an experimental situation.
This year, we are also preparing two programmes where you can join the festival not only as a participant, but as a performer as well. All you have to do is apply for one of the two workshops. One is primarily intended for professional dancers, while the other is open to amateurs as well.
During the two- or three-day collaborative process, performances and artworks will be created and presented by the participants as part of the UNDER500 programme.
If you have always wanted to perform, present your work, or simply experience what it is like to be part of a creative process, this could be a great opportunity.
And there is more good news: participants of the first two workshops will also perform at the festival, which means they receive free admission for all three festival days.
On the third day, Balázs Molnár will lead a self-exploration-focused workshop, where we will delve into our subconscious using masks made by the participants themselves, in order to explore and observe hidden parts of our personalities. Participation requires a ticket for that day.
The number of participants in the workshops is limited. Details on how to apply will be announced soon.
This year's UNDER500 explores what it means to create and work independently today through different genres, artistic perspectives and experimental situations. Finished works, projects in progress, encounters and collective thinking – over three days.
UNDER500 – for the seventh time.
What is finished. What is taking shape. What is just beginning.
See you on September 4–6 at Artus in Budapest.
P R O G R A M M E
Ｄａｎｃｅ ａｎｄ Ｐｅｒｆｏｒｍａｎｃｅ:
Kelemen Patrik: jaws
Catch Kollektíva: High on Heels
Horváth Acca: Vanilla Ground
Kacsó Imola / Gláser Márton: The Pavilion of Mercy
Molnár Csaba: Nicole Clore: A MEGAÚRNŐ
Kelemen Patrik: karnál – húslé
Irene Plaque: The Irene Plaque Show
Vass Imre
Presentation of the work created during Lili Raubinek and Patrik Kelemen's two-day Bunyó workshop
Presentation of the work created during Júlia Vavra & Sasu Korom's Vadító Táncok 2026 workshop
Ｚｅｎｅ / Ｍｕｓｉｃ:
Réti Virág / Iszlay József / Kádár Melinda
Primteori
Public Reptile
Kristóf Marci
Vox Tauri: Sway with Me
Ｄａｒｋ Ｎｉｇｈｔ ｏｆ ｔｈｅ Ｓｏｕｌ – Ｅｘｈｉｂｉｔｉｏｎ – free admission:
Featured artists: Balogh Bence, Boruzs Boglárka & Csató Csenge, Bosco Shane, Dallos Ádám, Dankó Boglárka, Zafar Durrani, El Kazovszkij, Farkas D. Gergő & Ágoston Balázs, Koleszár Adél, Leitner Levente, Piróth Tímea
Ｗｏｒｋｓｈｏｐｓ:
Friday & Saturday, 10:00–14:00
Lili Raubinek & Patrik Kelemen: two-day Bunyó workshop for professional dancers, with a presentation on Saturday
Friday, Saturday & Sunday, 10:00–14:00
Júlia Vavra & Sasu Korom: Vadító Táncok 2026 – a three-day workshop culminating in a performance and presentation
Sunday, 10:00–14:00
Balázs Molnár: Paranorma workshop
Ｄｉｓｃｕｓｓｉｏｎｓ:
FESZ: UNDER40 Forum – a forum for artists, creators and cultural professionals under 40 working in the field of dance
Ｄａｉｌｙ ｓｃｈｅｄｕｌｅ ａｎｄ ｄｅｔａｉｌｓ ｃｏｍｉｎｇ ｓｏｏｎ!
T I C K E T S
This year, we have created a ticketing system designed to make the festival accessible to as wide an audience as possible and to ensure that financial circumstances play as little a role as possible in determining who can take part in UNDER500.
You decide the price of your daily ticket: between HUF 5,000 and 15,000.
By choosing your ticket price, you support the festival and the artists while helping make the programme accessible to as many people as possible, regardless of their financial situation.
Choose the amount you feel comfortable paying – every contribution matters.
Tickets can only be purchased at the venue, either in cash or by card.
ＳＴＡＦＦ
Festival organisation and coordination: Viktor Szeri, Adrienn Hód
Organising team: Viktor Szeri, Adrienn Hód, Gyula Muskovics, M. Kata Kállai, Tamás Páll, András Molnár, Kata Dézsi
Performing arts programme: Adrienn Hód, Viktor Szeri
Exhibition: Gyula Muskovics, Tamás Páll, M. Kata Kállai
Music programme: András Molnár
Technical manager: Kata Dézsi
Sound engineer: Simon Sági
Communications: Viktor Szeri
Bar: Gólya
Administration: Lili Hitka
On-site ticket sales: Olivér Horváth
Video documentation: Gergely Ofner, Tamás Szabó Sipos
Photo documentation: Máté Kalicz
Co-production partner: OFF Foundation
Supporters: Artus Studio, National Cultural Fund of Hungary
Special thanks to Gábor Goda and ARTUS for hosting and supporting the festival.
The video used in the event header was filmed at last year's festival. Video by Gergely Ofner and Tamás Szabó Sipos. The audio featured in the video is Elder II by Áron Porteleki.
Artus
Artus is an open, diverse intellectual and creative workshop, a meeting place for people, ideas and art.
Artus is both Gábor Goda's company, the Artus Studio - a studio in an abandoned factory building of 2000 square metres - and the collective of 30 artists who work there, as well as the Association, which provides the institutional backdrop.
Founded in 1985, Artus is an independent, contemporary, all-arts collective. We have created more than 100 performances and presented them in 25 countries. Since the beginning we have organised international projects, residencies and co-productions.
The Studio's regular programmes include performances by the Artus company, guest performances, visual arts exhibitions, music and other cultural events, as well as self-awareness and movement workshops.
