The BINÁLÉ is a sovereign, decentralized art initiative set within Eastern Europe’s culturally rich yet politically fraught context. Its expanded media art collection sheds light on the interplay between creativity, technology, and societal change. Alongside its exhibitions, the biennial opens community spaces that focus on digital culture’s impact on local communities. The BINÁLÉ collective builds on modes of thought that move beyond the customary anthropocentric perspective of the Western tradition, seeking new interpretations of intelligence, consciousness, and interdependence.
In this age of hyperconnectivity and uncanny intelligences, the theme of BINÁLÉ’s second edition invites critical examination: What does encountering otherness mean today? This question encompasses meeting anything or anyone deemed “other”—whether artificial intelligences, extraterrestrial beings, or the unknown dimensions within ourselves. It includes everything beyond our ordinary perception and outside our comfort zone, provoking anxiety about losing control.
With transformative participatory installations and provocative dialogues, the 2025 Budapest BINÁLÉ seeks to collectively and constructively recalibrate humanity’s attitude towards encounters with the “alien.” At the same time, it confronts us with a striking paradox: despite humanity’s unprecedented interconnectedness, feelings of alienation and loneliness have perhaps never been more widespread.
This year’s thematic focus of BINÁLÉ can also be interpreted as a political statement: we are not alone – in other words, we are not isolated. In a period of resurgent nationalism and xenophobia, this statement serves as a reminder that no nation or culture exists in isolation. The event’s international and intercultural participation—with Hungarian and Mexican new-media artists alongside Japanese, German, Canadian, and American creators—stands as a testament to this idea of shared existence and exchange.
BINÁLÉ 2025 is realized through a collaboration between the experimental art collection 0xCollection and the Örkény István Theatre. It is curated by Viola Lukács and Júlia Neudold, with Máté Serflek’s designs, Gábor Kitzinger’s animations, and Rozi Mákó’s soundscapes shaping the exhibition experience. That collaborative ethos is perhaps best captured by the words of theorist Donna Haraway:
“We require each other in unexpected collaborations and combinations... We become-with each other or not at all… Alone... we succumb to despair.”
— Donna Haraway
17 September – 26 October 2025
Opening hours: Wednesday – Sunday
Weekdays: 3:00 PM – 10:00 PM
Weekends: 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM and 3:00 PM - 10:00 PM
Monday – Tuesday: closed
