Strategic board
Nikolett Erőss
She is a founding member of OFF-Biennale and has been a co-curator of several biennale editions and serves on the Strategic Board. Since 2022 she is the Director of the the Budapest History Museum—Budapest Gallery; where she worked as curator and Head of the Exhibition Department between 2018 and 2022. Between 2011 and 2013, she worked as a curator at the Ludwig Museum—Museum of Contemporary Art, Budapest, and from 2006 to 2010 she was the Director of Trafo Gallery, Budapest. Between 2000 and 2006, she worked at the C3 Foundation as co-curator of C3 Gallery and coordinator of media art projects. From 2003 to 2008, she was the editor of the contemporary art magazine exindex.hu, and between 2016 and 2017 she was a member of the editorial team of the international magazine mezosfera.org. She holds an M.A. degree in Art History (Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest).
Rita Kálmán
Since 2022, she has been a member of the curatorial and strategic board, as well as the management team, at OFF-Biennale Budapest. She is the initiator and organiser of the Dot.To.Dot curatorial visitor program (active since 2019). Between 2008 and 2012, she served as Senior Project Manager and Curator in the International Department of the Ludwig Museum—Museum of Contemporary Art, Budapest. She was the co-founder and co-director of Impex—Contemporary Art Provider, an independent art initiative active in Budapest between 2006 and 2010. From 2004 to 2006, she was the Executive Director of the Studio of Young Artists’ Association, Budapest. She completed her Masters degrees in Art History and Cultural Management at the University of Vienna, the University of Edinburgh, and the Institute of Cultural Management and Cultural Studies, Vienna.
Eszter Lázár
Between 2009 and 2023, she was a lecturer at the Department of Art Theory at the Hungarian University of Fine Arts; since 2023, she has served as an Associate Professor. In 2019, she joined OFF-Biennale, has been a co-curator of several biennale editions and is a member of the Strategic Board. Between 2016 and 2019, she was a member of the film section of the international initiative RomArchive—Digital Archive of the Roma. From 2020 to 2023, she participated in the EU4ART Alliance, a university consortium collaboration focused on artistic research. Between 2000 and 2008, she was the Artistic Director of Karton Gallery. She completed her doctoral studies in the Cultural Studies Program at the University of Pécs. She holds M.A. degrees in Art History and Cultural Anthropology from the Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest.
Hajnalka Somogyi
Since 2014, she has worked as leader and co-curator of OFF-Biennale Budapest, a project that she initiated. She is also professor at the Art and Design Theory Institute of the Budapest Metropolitan University. She was guest curator of the Tropical Lab programme at LaSalle College of the Arts in Singapore in 2023 and 2024. Between 2009-2012, she worked as a curator at the Ludwig Museum—Museum of Contemporary Art, Budapest; between 2001-2006 she was the Director of Trafo Gallery, Budapest. In 2013-2014, she was editor of artmagazin.hu. She co-founded the independent art initiatives Dinamo (2001-2006) and Impex (2006-2010), both in Budapest. She holds M.A. degrees in Art History (Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest), and Curatorial Studies (CCS, Bard College, NY).
Eszter Szakács
Borbála Szalai
She is a founding member of OFF-Biennale, has co-curated several biennale editions, and serves on the Strategic Board. Since 2018, she has been the Director of Trafo Gallery, where she had previously worked as a curator since 2012. Since 2023, she has been the Chief Curator at the Light Art Museum, Budapest. Between 2012 and 2015, she was the editor of the Hungarian section of Artyčok.TV, an online platform for contemporary art. Between 2011 and 2016, she was a member of the management board of Curators’ Network, an international platform promoting and connecting art professionals. From 2009 to 2012, she served as the Executive Director of the Studio of Young Artists’ Association, Budapest. She holds an M.A. degree in Art History from Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest.
Katalin Székely
She is a founding member of OFF-Biennale and has been a co-curator of several biennale editions and serves on the Strategic Board. Since 2015, she has been the Creative Director of the Blinken OSA Archivum and the curator and organizer of exhibitions and other events at the Centrális Gallery, which operates as part of the Archivum. Between 2014 and 2016, she was a member of the “Sixties–Seventies” research group at the Kassák Museum. Between 2008 and 2013, she worked as a curator at the Ludwig Museum – Museum of Contemporary Art, Budapest. Between 2006 and 2008, she was a curatorial assistant for the first Roma Pavilion (Paradise Lost, 2007) at the Venice Biennale. She completed her Master’s degrees in Art History and in German Language and Literature at Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest (ELTE); and is a PhD candidate at the ELTE Doctoral School of Film, Media and Cultural Theory.
Management team
András Bognár
Financial manager
Dina Darabos
Head of Production
Bernadett Fekete
Communication manager
Rita Kálmán
Head of Operations
Rita Komporday
Archive, documentation
Xénia Oszvald
Social media manager
Hajnalka Somogyi
Director
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