Szabihíd
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Project Description
Bridge–Public–Space. From 2017 for a couple of summer weekends, Liberty bridge turns into an open public space where people finally find freedom in the heart of the bustling city. We are waiting for everyone with free, diverse and open events, partly self-organized by the local communities. Our program over the Danube creates new urban alternatives, builds communities, and allows for sustainable, participatory, co-created spaces to emerge in the city. The bridge is common, the space is public.
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Description of the project
Summary
The origin of Szabihíd was the spontaneously organized community ’meeting place’ in the summer of 2016 on the Liberty Bridge, which was under renovation. From 2017, as our initiative, the bridge becomes a creative community place for pedestrians and cyclists for a couple of weekends in the summer, consequently becoming one of the most popular leisure venues in Budapest, full of free and colorful programs. Now Szabihíd is a non-profit cultural event. Its aim is bringing people closer to urban spaces, to their city and river, and uncover the opportunities lying in our urban spaces.
The biggest virtue of Szabihíd is that it showcases a variety of programs and atmospheres. Mornings are full of sports and yoga, then during the day, Szabihíd is mainly about family-time: you can stumble upon children's programs such as clown performances, circus productions, magic tricks, puppet shows, chalk drawing competitions. Music programs come in the afternoon and at sunset: choral performances, brass band, rock, electronic and alternative music, swing, jazz - from emerging bands to the most professionals. In addition, we welcome visitors with literary-themed programs (public reading or poetry game), contemporary dance performances and theater programs. In 2019, there were more than 70 scheduled programs over the 4 weekends.
The reputation of Szabihíd traveled all over the world. The Hungarian pavilion of the architecture program of ’La Biennale di Venezia’ presented this project in 2018. Szabihíd has become an iconic event, a widely known symbol of urban freedom in Budapest as a bustling grassroot initiative, an open and accessible city festival based on developing a shared sense of ownership of the space. The event, through its numerous unique programs addresses and involves wide ranges of audience to use a new type of urban public space. Its popularity is extraordinary among the city’s residents, visitors, leaders and those who are thinking about the city’s future.
Key objectives for sustainability
Szabihíd grew out of an urban opportunity, but also a deep community need for free, open, diverse, and democratic urban spaces. As such, it was built on existing communities of city-dwellers, organizing spontaneously and democratically. Yet with the evolvement of its presence in the city, it grew to build new communities, brought together by the potentials and opportunities emerging from the new public space. As organizers we consider it particularly important to provide space for civic initiatives in addition to the invited programs, which contribute to the SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITY-BUILDING (such as theatrical adventure games, experience painting, climate meeting, yoga in the mornings etc.). Additionally, we also organize such programs which bring communities together) (to name just a few: Holy mass, community breakfast, workshops leaded by homeless people, improvisational games…).
Part of the project’s success and consequent sustainability is its nature in REPURPOSING AN EXISTING, ICONIC SPACE of Budapest. Instead of creating a new community space for urban dwellers, Szabihíd integrated the community needs into an existing space. Through this, Szabihíd became the symbol of adaptable urban development, based in community building. This aspect also proved to be an invaluable perspective of sustainable urban development and urban planning, in general, inspiring further projects in Budapest, like the opening of the quay of Pest for pedestrians and cyclists during this summer.
ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY is also key to us: e.g. we use environmentally friendly power sources (in 2019 Greenpeace provided us a solar panel), there are options for selective waste collection on the bridge; we are strictly not using disposable plastic cups.
Through creating programs and opportunities to organizers, participants, and visitors alike, Szabihíd is contributing to the development of a city with less cars, more ADAPTABLE PUBLIC SPACES, reacting to the needs of local communities.
Key objectives for aesthetics and quality
As in our previous projects (RIVE – Rivers of Europe, The Bridge), it is important for us to draw attention to LOCAL VALUES - both the city and the local art scene. Szabihíd gives visibility to the space, the river, and the works themselves.
The third road crossing bridge in Budapest is the more than 100-year-old Liberty Bridge, which is currently the shortest bridge in the capital, connecting St. Gellert Square and Fővám Square. In 2004 on the occasion of Hungary's accession to the European Union, the Liberty Bridge was covered with grass for two days, and the entire bridge was handed over to pedestrians. It was a symbolic moment in the 'not always joyful' HISTORY OF THE BRIDGE. More than a decade later Szabihíd also contributed to the Liberty Bridge becoming the bridge of freedom. After the initial spontaneous ‘bridge occupation’ in 2016, Valyo initiated the opening of the Liberty Bridge to pedestrians again, not only because the bridge’s central location – making it easily accessible for everyone –, but also because the Szabihíd project allowed Liberty bridge to be integrated into the LIFE OF THE CITY as a public space.
Szabihíd is a perfect example of adapting NEW FUNCTIONS to a differently used space (this bridge is a transport route for cars, trams). It’s based on the shared-use idea of the public spaces. Szabihíd is one of the first initiatives which proves that we don’t need new spaces, we only have to RETHINK the existing ones. For now, of course, we organize Szabihíd only on weekends adapted to urban transport, but this year Valyo and Budapest Brand are planning to bring a tram (in a stationary condition) to the bridge during the program, reinterpreting its original function. Used as a café or exhibition space it can become an essential and integrated part of the Szabihíd.
Key objectives for inclusion
Szabihíd breaks down conventional genre and art schemes. During the event, you don’t have to go to a separate space if you want to see contemporary dance or literature, electronic music, circus performance or an art exhibition. This kind of OPENNESS AND DIVERSITY ensures the uniqueness and success of Szabihíd.
Pro Progressione has been responsible for the invited artistic program of the bridge since 2017. When designing the program, we always consider the capabilities of the Liberty Bridge, the needs of the city-dwellers and that the audience of the bridge is the most mixed audience we have ever met as an organization. During the festival, we present productions serving as GOOD PRACTICES FOR THE USE OF PUBLIC SPACES. Almost every art sector is represented in the colorful program of Szabihíd: a wide variety of music genres, contemporary dance, literature, circus, theatre, fine art. In addition to high art standards, it is also important to make room to civic initiatives and create a suitable venue for various sports and community events – for example in 2019 we organized a community breakfast, workshops lead by homeless people, a Holy Mass and welcomed the ’Act Now! Die-in’ climate demonstration and party organized by Greenpeace.
One of the most important principles of Szabihíd is PROVIDING ALL PROGRAMS FOR FREE to everyone. In 2019 around 40.000 visitors took part in the programs. Regardless of social or financial background, everyone has the opportunity to enjoy the programs, participate in them, or just sit in one of the hammocks and watch the colorful ferocity. Szabihíd also provides space for direct and informal meetings between artists and their audiences, which deepens the relationship between the performer and the beholder side.
One of our very strict rules is that WE DO NOT ALLOW COMMERCIAL ACTIVITY on the bridge – thus we avoid making the Szabihíd a privileged festival, and we further support nearby convenience stores and markets with this restriction.
Results in relation to category
Szabihíd in numbers:
- 3 organized event-serial (2017-2019)
- 8 organizers (5 from Valyo, 3 from Pro Progressione) coordinating the civic and invited programs
- approximately 25 volunteers coordinating the pedestrian and bicycle traffic
- 4 partners/7 sponsors
- 70 community, artistic and sport programs (25 invited programs organized by Pro Progressione) + uncountable spontaneous programs in 2019
- 942 contributors (artists, musicians, sport coaches, workshop leaders, volunteers for the civic programs) + 1111 participants in an experience painting record attempt in 2019
- approximately 40.000 visitors during the 4 weekends in 2019; in total approximately 80.000 visitors in between 2017-2019
- 2 Szabihíd weekends in 2021 (depending on the current epidemic situation)
We are proud to say, that following the example of Szabihíd, several SIMILAR INITIATIVES ARE EMERGING in Hungary. Just to mention the last one, during this summer the Pesti quay will be open for pedestrians thanks for Valyo’s persistence.
Szabihíd also has a strong impact on COMMUNITY BUILDING: hundreds and thousands of city-dwellers wait for the open weekends of the Liberty Bridge, and plan their own programs, be it sports, community events or art programs.
In 2019 Valyo and Pro Progressione organized some PREPARATORY WORKSHOPS, where we could meet the participants before the actual event. Szabihíd serves also as a good practice for transforming an empty and open space into a community space without building anything new.
Although Szabihíd is free from political bias, there is an AGREEMENT WITH POLITICAL LEADERS about the festival with openness across different political sides.
One of Valyo’s long-term goals is to transform the Liberty Bridge into the first pedestrian bridge in Budapest, so we could call Szabihíd an experimental program and a preparation phase for a LARGER PLAN which would fundamentally change the infrastructure of Budapest, making the city center more livable.
How Citizens benefit
Due to its ’total art’ nature, Szabihíd provides a venue for artists from various branches of art, from well-known performers to emerging artists to amateur groups. In contrast to the conception of art based solely on elite foundations, we place great emphasis on HIGH-QUALITY, FREE ART ACCESSIBLE to all, regardless of social and economic background. Szabihíd also creates room for genres that are rarely seen or maybe unusual for local audiences (e.g. site-specific works, new circus, theatrical adventure games, drama pedagogy). Citizens could benefit from the community and artistic programs organized by us, or from the project in general as they will BE PART OF THE SZABIHÍD-COMMUNITY as well. In addition to the available, diverse programs, it is also very popular that only pedestrians and cyclists can use the bridge on the Szabihíd weekends. Coordination of the programs on the bridge and the transport is done by the Valyo and Pro Progressione team and their volunteers.
To better involve civil society in the preparation phase Valyo organized Szabihíd DESING WORKSHOPS during the Spring in 2019, which focused on different aspects of the bridge and the programs (public transport infrastructure, artistic programs, installations etc.). Our other main point regarding the CIVIL SOCIETY INVOLVEMENT is that Szabihíd offers a huge number of other SELF-ORGANIZING PROGRAMS - and this tradition, which started from the first spontaneous bridge occupation, has been preserved ever since.
Besides that, the transformational activities of Szabihíd are mostly centered around arts and culture, we more than welcome the initiatives and programs of the local society. Designing the program structure, we always keep in mind the needs of city dwellers and visitors. On the one hand, we take care to give space to the VARIOUS LOCALLY ORGANIZED PROGRAMS, and on the other hand, we also pay close attention to INVITING NGOs who work a lot in their daily lives to maintain and build urban communities.
Innovative character
Szabihíd is an innovative project, both because it is a UNIQUE INITIATIVE, and also because it has a distinctly EXPERIMENTAL CHARACTER within the spheres of urban design, community organizing and arts alike. Taking over a prominent space of the capital to create periodically new public spaces is unique in its genre in the whole region. This uniqueness lies within multiple components of the project.
Firstly, its vast scale is joined by a STRONG COMMUNITY FOCUS AND SUPPORT: Szabihíd grew out of the spontaneous place occupation and making actions of the city dwellers, and as a project proudly builds on these roots to this day.
Second of all, the organization and the focus of the project is SERVING DIRECTLY THE NEEDS of various urban communities. Reflecting on that, the organizing process itself is hybrid, with more than half of the events being organized by urban communities and the users themselves. Of course, it is important, that we have to create the frame for it, and harmonize the program schedule according to the needs and type of these initiatives.
Thirdly, the project, OPENING UP A LARGE PUBLIC SPACE in a place dedicated for something so entirely and unapologetically infrastructural as a prominent bridge over the Danube, has the quality of true experimental urban planning, developing over the course of multiple, reoccurring summers. This in itself proves the project to be an innovative practice, which already impacted Budapest’s urban development, for instance inspiring the opening of the Pest quay. Through this, it allows for communities to be formed, people to meet, citizens to take ownership of their city, and artists to create reflective pieces on their surroundings.
And last but not least we have to mention that Szabihíd proved that it is possible to create a colorful and high-quality program series which has a wide societal, urban and artistic impact from a SMALL-SCALE FINANCIAL BACKGROUND.
