Located in southern Hungary, a few kilometers from Budapest, Pécs is a city renowned for its cultural heritage. It was named European Capital of Culture in 2010. For almost a century, the city’s artistic scene has been remarkable. Indeed, many internationally renowned artists are associated with the city. The best-known of these are Victor Vasarely, considered one of the leaders of the Op Art movement, and Marcel Breuer, a leading figure in the Bauhaus movement. The city, which rightly identifies itself as a cradle of culture, boasts a significant artistic influence, is home to the country’s oldest university and has a rich heritage from the 150-year Ottoman occupation. Historically, Pécs was a multi-ethnic city where many cultures blended together, creating a melting pot of different values, the rich result of 2000 years of history.
The exhibition hall in Széchenyi Square was inaugurated under the name of Pécs Gallery in 1979, with Sándor Pinczehelyi, graphic designer and visual artist, appointed as its director.
The Pécs Gallery organizes 20-22 exhibitions a year in Hungary and several European countries. From 1988 onwards, its Plakátok/Posters graphic design exhibitions enjoyed national and international renown for 16 years. In 2010, the institution expanded with a 1200m2 exhibition space: M21 Gallery. As such, the city prides itself on its cultural vitality and its particularly strong links with poster art.
The international graphic design festival of Pécs, GraphicPécs, aims to continue this legacy of graphic design exhibitions in the city. The first edition of the festival was held from November 10, 2022 to January 8, 2023.
Six exhibitions in five different places (including the M21 Gallery, the Pécs Gallery, and the cinema in the city center), as well as lectures and book presentations were organized in various places in the city of Pécs during the festival.
The next exhibition, conceived and produced by Atelier Michel Bouvet for the second edition of GraphicPécs, explores the rich legacy of pop and underground graphic design that emerged in the USA in the 1960s. Posters, record sleeves, band logos, comics, alternative publications: the aim is to discover how these graphic works shaped the visual identity of an entire era, right up to the present day.
