Bubap – Budapest Walk Shop

The project was started in 2011 by a Muslim artist named Anna Lénárt. She was later joined by other experts in different areas

Bubap is a project of organising alternative, socially conscious walking tours in the city, mainly for locals. There are four categories of walks:  political – about the political past of Budapest,  about minorities (ethnic, religious) in the city,  gender – forgotten feminine spaces, LGBTQ+,  city development and politics (including real estate corruption). The project was started in 2011 by a Muslim artist named Anna Lénárt. She was later joined by other experts in different areas. Now they have 3 permanent colleagues and 10–15 part-time guides. The walks serve as space for the locals to enjoy a type of cultural entertainment which also allows them to become more acquainted with their city and its diverse communities. There has been a great deal of tension in Hungarian society, which has had an impact on the city as well. People are trapped in their own realities, from which social tensions/problems and history often seem abstract and there is no space to talk about these things.

The project successfully aims at eradicating tensions from communities in Budapest. The walks provide the opportunity for citizens not only to learn more information, but also to have an emotional experience through which they can feel more connected and more competent and can let go of some of this tension. Their audience is made up of 95% university educated professionals; two-thirds of them are women. They also often attract media professionals, whom they also try to educate through these walks. The general age group is people between 20–30 and over 50. Their regular clients include schools, universities and recreational clubs and centres.

The programme is also intergenerational, as older participants have the opportunity to share their stories with youth including — at times — their own grandchildren. They have a good partnership with organisations that work in different social areas, for example Roma integration or gender equality, they work together with them to develop the walks. In addition, there are places which help them by selling their tickets e.g.: the Trafó Centre for Modern Art and the Writers’ Bookshop. They issue a newsletter with their walks; they also have a website, a Facebook page and Instagram. There is a non-profit association and an Ltd. as well behind the project, but the non-profit is becoming more and more in focus. https://setamuhely.hu/