Mai Manó Gallery ("Kis Manó")

The Budapest Photography Grant was established in 2000 by the Pro Cultura Urbis Public Foundation, at the initiative of photographer Péter Korniss and János Schiffer, and has been awarded to an excellent photographer each year ever since. The grant provides monthly stipend for a year to help the grantee complete a photo series on the capital of Hungary based on their submitted thematic concept.

Former grantees and the titles of their series: Imre Benkő: Budapest Blues (2000), Zoltán Vancsó: Budapest Street (2002), Balázs Gárdi: Concrete Jungle (2003), Tamás Dezső: 8th District (2004), Gábor Arion Kudász: Green Area (2005), György Stalter: City Within the City (2006), Márk Simon: Spa Town (2007), Dániel Kovalovszky: Memory Factory (2008), Gyula Sopronyi: Residential Parks (2010) Norbert Hartyányi: Margaret Island (2011), Simon Móricz: Moscow Square (2012)

I discovered Moszkva tér (a public square and busy transportation hub in Budapest that literally translates to Moscow Square) in the mid-nineties and ever since I have the feeling that nothing has changed here. Time has seemingly stopped.
Those crossing the square are witness to a contradiction between the square itself and its surroundings. Over the last decade, the market of Fény Street underwent some changes and became more modern; also, a mall was built on Széna Square, and more and more apartment facades got their old splendor back in the neighboring streets. In the meantime, the square itself has not changed in decades: it is still a cold, windy, and rather unfriendly transportation node.
This gate to mid-Buda is a city within the city. In a much narrower sense, however, passers-by use it for two reasons: to transfer or to meet with somebody. Hundreds of thousands of people force their way through the crowd, notwithstanding morning fatigue, or tiredness by the afternoon. They move around without seeing, hearing or paying attention to each other; there is only coarseness, rush, indifference, misery, grief, and noise. For most, this space is nothing but a dreadful mass of people with trams; it is but an ugly mole on the face of the city.
Chaos reigns all over this place. It becomes one with those who basically co-exist with it, resulting in the Capital city’s only man-market with a long history of traditions and trades. From daybreak till morning, the space opposite the subway exit is infested with workers; from the morning on, a supplement of black marketeers, homeless people, beggars, freeloaders arrive and settle in the square.
I wonder whether this area can or will ever become a trimmed, harmonious world and whether refurbishment would still be able to preserve all that is valuable.
One of the 7706 public spaces of Budapest is now called Széll Kálmán Square but for many it is still Moszkva Square.

A square, a place in Budapest.

Simon Móricz

Moscow Square

In a city's complicated, often contradictory structure that amalgamate many different qualities, certain nodes often acquire particular significance. These focal points unite private and public spheres, often blurring the boundaries between them. Here, each occurence happens in accordance with the given time of the day; scenes of life are like scenes of a never ending performance, played over and over again among the same set.

Simon Moricz condenses the city’s every day occurences from dusk till dawn into the life at Moscow Square. Revealing the whole by only showing one part, he maps the essence of big city life with his characterisric approach. Similarly to his other photo series, he tells a story here, too. He observes occurences right as they unfold. He sees, feels, and shows hidden correlations by exploring and unveiling destinies that appear in the moments, or patterns that develop through repetitions.

As far as we, the spectators are concerned: if we devote some time now and look at the exhibited pieces, we will get to know unfamiliar faces and unknown sides of a well-known space through Moricz's black and white photographs.

Gabriella Csizek, curator

Simon Móricz
1980 Kiskunhalas, Hungary

2003: Worked for Népszabadság, the largest Hungarian political daily newspaper.

AWARDS:
2012: Hungarian Press Photo, Budapest Photography Grant
2012: Hungarian Press Photo, Second Place in Nature and Environment Stories category
2012: Hungarian Press Photo, Third Place in Humor/tabloid/genre category
2011: China International Press Photo Contest, Bronze prize – Nature & Environment News Stories category
2011: József Pécsi Fine Art Photography Grant (a yearly scholarship for the most talented young photographers)
2010: Hungarian Press Photo, Third Place in Daily Life category
2010: József Pécsi Fine Art Photography Grant
2009: József Pécsi Fine Art Photography Grant
2009: Billboard / PDN Ultimate Music Moment photography contest, First Place – Crowd category
2009: Hungarian Press Photo, Márton Munkácsi Prize for the best collection
2009: Hungarian Press Photo, Third Place in General News stories category
2009: Hungarian Press Photo, First Place in Documentary Photo Essay category
2009: Hungarian Press Photo, Best photographer under 30 years
2008: Ringier International Photo Award , Third Place
2008: Hungarian Press Photo, Best photographer under 30 years
2008: Hungarian Press Photo, Third Place in Daily Life category
2007: Ringier International Photo Award , Third Place
2007: Hungarian Press Photo, Grand prize – Photographer of the Year
2007: Hungarian Press Photo, Best photographer under 30 years
2007: Hungarian Press Photo, Márton Munkácsi Prize for the best collection
2007: Hungarian Press Photo, First Place in Daily Life category
2007: National Geographic Award, Hungary, Second Place in Daily Life category
2007: National Geographic Award, Hungary, Second Place in Travel and Culture category
2006: Scolarship of National Cultural Fund, Hungary

SOLO EXHIBITIONS:
2008: Youth House, Miskolc
2007: Mongolians in Hőgyész, The Hungarian House of Photography, Budapest
2006: Moszkva square, Millenaries Park, Budapest