METU at Vienna Design Week: Imagining Possible Futures Through Art and Design

What might the future look like, and how can art and design help us shape it?

Budapest Metropolitan University (METU) successfully showcased its creative talent at the 20th anniversary edition of Vienna Design Week, presenting Critical Utopia – Possible Futures, an interdisciplinary exhibition developed by METU’s Faculty of Arts and Creative Industries in collaboration with Collegium Hungaricum Wien.

The exhibition brought together works by METU students and faculty members, exploring social, environmental and technological questions through bold ideas, experimentation and creative thinking. Curated by Dr Zsuzsanna Pörczi and Anna Kudron, the exhibition offered a space to question the present and imagine new possibilities for the future.

On 26 September, the programme was further enriched by designer Martin Fódi’s performance, the lore of a withered apparition, performed by Roland Szmutka.

For METU, participating in one of the region’s leading international design festivals was an important opportunity to share the creativity and innovative thinking emerging from our university studios with a wider international audience. The exhibition space also featured renowned European institutions, including the University of Applied Arts Vienna (Die Angewandte), New Design University, Karlsruhe University of Arts and Design (HfG) and the University of Potsdam.

Beyond showcasing creative work, the festival provided valuable opportunities to build professional connections and explore future collaborations. Dialogue with New Design University, for example, began following METU’s participation in the previous year’s Vienna Design Week.

“Vienna Design Week is an especially important international platform for our Faculty. We value the opportunity for students and faculty members to work together across disciplines and explore questions that will shape our future. It is inspiring to see how our young creatives approach possible futures from such diverse, imaginative and unexpected perspectives. These exchanges and experiments are an essential part of how we prepare the next generation of artists and creative professionals at METU,” said Dr Gábor Megyeri, Dean of METU’s Faculty of Arts and Creative Industries.

We are proud to see our students’ and faculty members’ ideas become part of the international conversation on contemporary art and design, creating new connections and inspiring fresh perspectives on the future.

The journey continues: Critical Utopia – Possible Futures will open at the METU Gallery on 16 October.