THE ROOF IS ON FIRE!

The Local Government of Terézváros (the 6th district of Budapest) plans to erase Tűzraktér

Independent Cultural Centre and Art House with a flick of a pen. They made emptying the

building that employs 374 artists obligatory with a deadline of 31st of March.

This cultural and art uniting project started in 2005 in an abandoned warehouse, in Tűzoltó

Street, and reached remarkable achievements on an international level before it moved to a

former school building in the 6th district, in Hegedű Street.

The building, partly under immunity as a monument and mutually owned by the Government

of Budapest and Terézváros, had been deserted for years, before the Art Sector Foundation,

the organization behind TŰZRAKTÉR rented it from the Local Government. The District

– as a token of their respect for the organization’s cultural and social endeavor – defined a

symbolic rent, while the monthly expenses, adding up to 1,5 million Forints, were charged to

TŰZRAKTÉR. The Government of Budapest also appreciated their successes – they awarded

the Pro Urbe Budapest Award to the cultural centre in 2010, whilst they received a Ministerial

Award from the Ministry of Culture as well as the EUROREGIO Innovation Award.

This is how a four storied, 3500 m2 building, a defunct school – with the help of the Local

Government – could become a creative cultural space that simultaneously grants rehearsal

rooms, studios and infrastructural background for companies of fine and visual arts, applied

arts, theatre and cinematography as well as other innovative groups, and also accommodates

educational and cultural events as a venue for original cultural initiatives.

“TŰZRAKTÉR is a multifunctional, open space, a place for public assembly that creates

means of intercommunication, takes in and inspires new thoughts and creative ways of

living.”

In the course of the last 5 years nearly 6500 artistic and cultural events have taken place

in TŰZRAKTÉR. More than 40 exhibitions, 170 theatrical, circus and dance shows, 600

educational and training courses, 100 family and children’s programs and 320 concerts had

been carried out, among others, with an annual attendance of 30 thousand people. The 40

studios of the Art House employ 374 active artists currently, but many civil groups and

associative artists join regularly for shorter or longer projects. The birth of TŰZRAKTÉR is a

good example in front of other grassroots, self-organized, self-effort and voluntariness based

community spaces and cultural centers.

The 6th district of Budapest has obtained a place where the audience can attend the most

varied and diverse cultural programs for free or a very reasonable price. Language lessons,

drug-prevention programs, photography courses, visual trainings, dance lessons, yoga courses

and recovery sessions for disabled children are being held in the Art House. TŰZRAKTÉR

houses the circus juggler town, a truly standalone endeavor in Hungary, a publisher company,

an animation film studio, as well as civilian organizations from the fields of environment and

youth protection and voluntary organizing. It serves as an official hosting theatre and is a

member of the Hungarian Hosting Theaters’ Association since it was founded in 2006.

The same level of variety features artistic activity: “We don’t want to be defined alongside

aesthetical measures. How could it even happen to a place where exhibitions are organized

as a final exam of the students from the University of Fine Arts, and where Tibetan monks

come to grate Mandalas for a week and symbolically pour them into the river Danube at the

same time? How could we even want to put it into words that we have the ELTE University’s

official students’ theatre up and going? Or the fact that we have organized an exhibition along

with Műcsarnok, or what exactly the actors from Katona József Theatre keep rehearsing here?

Or whether a nine-year-old holds her first acrobatic performance?”

The symbiosis between entrant artists and proven, professional creators has nurtured original

initiatives. They started the international Art Against Discrimination movement, in which

18 countries participated and embodied many regional co-operative programs and folklore

events. They are official members of the Anna Lindh Foundation, a network with members

from 42 countries.

Those who have mostly came upon musical programs and parties in TŰZRAKTÉR might be

surprised at the level of the collective activity in the Art House. That’s why it is important lay

down one thing: TŰZRAKTÉR is neither a ruin-pub nor just a place of entertainment

that has reached the brink of closing-down for similar reasons that recently surfaced

and led to closures following the West Balkan incident.

The Local Government and the leaders of TŰZRAKTÉR carried on continuous

communication about the questions and possibilities of the building’s running. Both operation

and future planning were difficult knowing that the Local Government never tended to sign an

extended rental contract. The halves mostly agreed for a couple of months ahead. Given the

size and the ever-decaying state of the building, the current expenses are relatively high. The

expenses were covered by the members of the Art House, different applications for assistance

as well as the catering and coffee-bar that served as a background activity.

During the last few years TŰZRAKTÉR has executed significant investments in order to

maintain the building’s state. They have elaborated a system of full fire-protection and put

formerly unused sections of the building on operation with shock-proofing. They laid down

wooden flooring, repainted the interiors, glazed more than 100 windows, changed the security

locks, etc. All of these improvements were financed and executed by the local organizers and

creators.

TŰZRAKTÉR has always met each and every requirement and official proposal that

the Local Government demanded. They fully renovated every guestroom. The rest rooms’

decorations were made of resident artists’ ceramic tiles. They invested a praiseworthy amount

into official sound level monitoring and sound-proofing, as well as into the launching of the

kitchen unit at once their legal necessity become known.

TŰZRAKTÉR gladly accepted the conception of the Local Government for the building’s

renovation and signed up voluntarily to personally complete the maintenance tasks outlined

by the Treasury. Besides, they have submitted a co-operational proposal for further

development of the building and for the operation’s long term sustainability, with an intention

to use sources from the EU and external investors.

Despite their ongoing requests towards the Local Government to authorize their catering

section which serves as a financial background to the sustainable cultural operation, the

District decided not to prolong TŰZRAKTÉR’s permission for the coffee bar. On the 24th of

February the Local Government’s Representatives also decided to obligate TŰZRAKTÉR

Independent Cultural Centre and Art House to empty the building with a deadline of

31st of March.

They justified their decision with economical reasons. But TŰZRAKTÉR, as its official

representatives have made clear at the assembly, is still open for co-operation with the Local

Government and is determined to find a way to stay.

“TŰZRAKTÉR has proven – not once, but two times – the feasibility of building an operable

cultural system with a support of 0 forints. We have tangible plans of actual solutions to

provide long term operation, but we fail to understand how the decision of emptying the

building and the withdrawal of the permission for any cultural activity can be in accordance

with the support of TŰZRAKTÉR.” Ágnes Simor, cultural director, Tűzraktér.

HELP US SAVE TŰZRAKTÉR!

TŰZRAKTÉR INDEPENDENT CULTURAL CENTRE AND ART HOUSE calls out

for everyone and appreciates every hand that helps to preserve Tűzraktér in the Hegedű

Street building to continue providing the most diversified artistic and cultural events.

www.tuzrakter.hu, www.facebook.com/tuzrakter

Love&Culture Forever!

TŰZRAKTÉR

About Tűzraktér

http://tuzrakter.hu/mi.html

http://tuzrakter.hu/kepek/portfoliok/H3P4eweb.pdf

http://tuzrakter.hu/alkotohaz/TuzrakterP.pdf

About the Art House

http://tuzrakter.hu/alkotohaz/alkotok.html

About the hosting theatre

http://tuzrakterszinhaz.blogspot.com/

Official pages

www.tuzrakter.hu

http://www.facebook.com/tuzrakter

Pics

http://on.fb.me/tuzrakterpic

http://picasaweb.google.com/artists.of.elfe/

Supporters reunion

http://on.fb.me/tuzvan

...........................................................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................................................

NAPTÁR