The decision was made as a result of the open call for curators by the Hungarian Fashion & Design Agency (HFDA): Barna Erdész, co-owner of Erdész Gallery and founder of Gallery East of Eden, and a dedicated advocate of contemporary Hungarian art and collectible design, will lead the curatorial work of the 2025 edition of 360 Design Budapest. This year, the flagship event of Budapest Design Week will highlight the power of collective thinking and interconnected narratives, under the motto “Design Aligns – Creating Together, Living Connected”.
The Hungarian Fashion & Design Agency (HFDA) is organising the 360 Design Budapest exhibition for the sixth time, which has become one of the most important design events in the Central European region in the last more than half decade. As part of the Budapest Design Week, this internationally recognised event aims to spotlight Hungarian and regional product designers, supporting Hungarian design brands’ global presence. This year, the exhibition awaits visitors in the capital between 9 and 19 October.
The HFDA selected the 2025 exhibition’s curator through an open call for applications, with a professional advisory board evaluating the submitted proposals. Barna Erdész’s concept highlights community thinking, intertwining traditions, and a contemporary mindset, in line with the theme “Design Aligns – Creating Together, Living Connected”. The concept focuses on a dialogue between the past and the present and different creators and genres, which is reflected not only in the objects but the spatial narrative of the exhibition as well: rather than following a single, linear chronology, the exhibition leads the visitors through the heritage of Hungarian applied and product design and their contemporary reinterpretations through thematic blocks and points of connection.
Barna Erdész has long been a prominent figure in the contemporary Hungarian art and design scene: since 1992, the Erdész Gallery and Design, a commercial art gallery, has represented Hungarian fine and applied arts and regularly participates in prestigious international fairs. Erdész has curated numerous exhibitions, art events, and monographs throughout his career. For over three years, he has also been running his own contemporary gallery, East of Eden, which places a strong emphasis on collectible design and showcasing emerging artists. Previously, he has worked as a designer and project manager at major international events such as the Bocuse d’Or, CeBIT Hannover, Shanghai Import & Export Expo, and the Dubai Global Teacher Prize. Erdész also demonstrated his curatorial expertise as one of the curators of the Hungarian pavilion at Milan Design Week, where, together with Angéla Góg, he explored the relationship between artificial intelligence, craftsmanship, and sustainability.