Szimpla - 2017 (english)

The year 2017 is over, which was really unique and eventful in Szimpla. We tried to collect a few things, what happened in the past approximately 365 days, but as we had even more events and visitors than the year before, we can only present an rough outline in pictures, videos and figures what happened in Szimpla last year.

Looking back on 2017: Szimpla Kert had more than 1.2 million visitors, and the number of daytime visitors is increasing. In 2016 we decided that we want to have visitors not only in the evening or at night, but create a space which is attractive during daytime, full of programs, with music, arts, markets or gastronomy, theatre or literature, often carfree, happening also in the street in front of us, and we can tell that this initiative has been successful és ez úgy tűnik, sikerült is.

More than 260 thousand people visited our website in 2017, our subsites had more than 700 thousand visitors. Szimpla has almost 100 thousand followers in Facebook, and what is even more astonishing that on Facebook our various videos were watched for 676 thousand minutes(!) altogether, plus, last but not least, for about 400 thousand minutes on YouTube. Szimpla had more than 4 million Google searches, and 2.5 million wrote Szimpla kert, whcih is quite direct. Including our new Szimpla Night Vibes DJ events, we had over 500 music events, more, than 150 new videos, at least 200 live transmissions and more than 60 new recorded songs, contibuting to the music life in Hungary.

Besides, we organized Cycling Circuses where you could find special design products and recycled, upcycled art, we presented the Budapest Catalogue books, and we organized 48 farmers' markets, with 48 charity cooking events, where NGOs raised over 7 million forints. We should not forget about our dog-themed markets, where the number of four-legged visitors was 150 in average, of course accompanied by their two-legged friends, which is a great success.

Bicycles were rented from us over 800 times, and more than 50 pieces of art were created in the Art Corner. In Szimpla Háztáji 21660 menues were sold in 2017, as well as 5415 croissants, 14440 sandwiches, 510 liters of yoghurt and minimum 10 thousand eggs were used for cakes and treats, omelettes and our other foods. Our new project is Szimpla Farmers' Brunch, which has been extremely successful: we had at least 7500 visitors in 2017.  

We organized two street festivals in Kazinczy street together with the other places, where over 5000 people were strolling, cycling, planting trees, in addition last year on the carfree day we tried out, very successfully what is it like when the street is closed for cars for a whole weekend, including the night. In addition, we occupied the street for various other programs for another 12 days during the year.   

We hope that this trend that we can expand our activities will continue this year as well, and we will continue making our environment more liveable. We hope that those who have not visited us will have the opportunity to pop in, and those who have been to Szimpla return and we can fulfil their expectations. Thank you for those who visited us last year, our markets or fairs, our concerts, or just dropped in for mulled wines or coctails any evening. Check out our videos and picture galleries for 2017, they are worth seeing.

Szimpla wishes you a very happy and successful New Year!

A Kazinczy Élő Könyvtár ismét a Szimpla Kertben! / Kazinczy Living Library in Szimpla Garden again

Gyere el január 13-án 13:00-kor a Szimpla Kertbe, a Kazinczy Élő Könyvtár és a MyBudapest Photo Project közös programjára, ahol a lakhatási válság áldozataival ismerkedhetsz meg. Beszélgethetsz hajléktalanságot megtapasztalt, szegénységben élő, otthontalan, kunyhó- lakó, kilakoltatást elszenvedett és közmunkás béren tengődő emberekkel. Az eseményen megtekinthetők a MyBudapest Photo Project "Az utca más képen. Az utcán másképpen" című kiállítás képei, amelyek alkotói utcán élő emberek, akik a program alatt személyes beszélgetések során mondják majd el élettörténetüket az érdeklődők számára. 

Mi az Élő Könyvtár?

Az Élő Könyvtár egy tökéletes alkalom arra, hogy elősegítsük és erősítsük az egymás iránti megértésünket. Amíg egy hagyományos könyvtárban könyveket kölcsönözhetünk ki olvasásra, az Élő Könyvtárban embereket lehet kikölcsönözni egy őszinte beszélgetés erejéig. Az Élő Könyvtár Könyvei olyan csoportok képviselői, amelyek etnikai, vallási hovatartozásuk, szexuális orientációjuk, egészségügyi állapotuk vagy szociális helyzetük miatt előítéletekkel és diszkriminációval nap mint nap szembesülnek társadalmunkban. Az élő Könyv személyes beszélgetések alatt megosztja élettörténetét és a kirekesztéssel kapcsolatos tapasztalatait az eseményre látogató vendégekkel (az Olvasókkal), akik kérdezhetnek és reflektálhatnak az elhangzottakra.

MyBudapest Photo Project

Budapest sokunk otthona. Megvannak a törzshelyeink: a kedvenc padunk a Margitszigeten, az utca, amin mindennap végigtekerünk, vagy a sarok, ahol a péntek esti sörözés előtt összefutunk. De vajon hogyan látják a várost azok, akik számára ezek a helyek szó szerint az otthont jelentik?

A Budapest Bike Maffia csapata a londoni Café Art együttműködésével idén második alkalommal hirdette meg fotópályázatát hajléktalan emberek számára. A tavalyi évhez hasonlóan az önkénteseink a Fujifilm Magyarország támogatásával egyszer használatos fényképezőgépeket osztottak ki a résztvevőknek, hogy fotóikon keresztül mutathassák meg a várost, ahogy ők látják. A kiállításon látható alkotásokat szakmai zsűri választotta ki, a közönség kedvenc képeiből és az alkotók történeteiből pedig 12+1 került be a MyBudapest 2018 naptárba. Az eladásokból származó teljes nyereséget a hajléktalan művészek kapják. A kezdeményezés célja, hogy lehetőséget adjunk a hajlék nélkül élőknek arra, hogy megmutathassák tehetségüket és mindennapjaikat, és ezáltal felhívjuk a figyelmet a hajléktalanság problémájára, halványítsuk a sztereotípiákat és megpróbáljuk szűkíteni a társadalmi rétegek közötti szakadékot.

______________ENGLISH_________________

The Kazinczy Living Library opens up again for Readers! 

Join us on January 13th at 1 PM in Szimpla for the joint program of the Kazinczy Living Library and MyBudapest Photo Project, where you can meet the victims of the housing crisis. You will have the opportunity to talk to people who have experienced homelessness, live in poverty, without a home, suffered eviction who try to make ends meet on workfare. At the event, you can also see the pictures of the My Budapest Photo Project exhibition "The street from another angle". The pictures were taken by people living in the street, who will tell their life stories in person as books of the living library. 

What is a Living Library?

The Living Library is a method created to promote respect, dialogue and to challenge stereotypes and discrimination between different social groups. The Living Library is set up as a space for interaction and debate. While in a conventional library visitors can borrow books for reading, in a living library visitors can borrow people for an honest conversation. The Books in a living library are people who are marginalized due to their ethnicity, religion, profession, sexuality, social status, health, background, etc. During this informal dialogue, the Books are sharing their personal experience regarding any kind of discrimination or inequality they have to face in their life and the Reader can interact, ask questions and reflect on his/her own prejudices. 

The Kazinczy Living Library was created inside the walls of Szimpla Kert in Kazinczy street. The organization team had the wish to create an event both aimed at local people and international community in Budapest. 

MyBudapest Photo Project - The street from another angle.

Budapest is home to many of us. We all have our favorite places: That special bench on Margaret Island; a street we cycle along to work each morning; or the corner where we meet up before grabbing a beer on Friday evenings. But what is Budapest like for those who literally call these spots home?

This is the second time Budapest Bike Maffia, in cooperation with the Café Art team in London, has launched a photography contest for homeless people. Similarly to last year, volunteers handed out single-use cameras, provided by Fujifilm Magyarország, to the participants so they can capture the city the way they see it. The pictures for the exhibition have been selected by a professional panel of judges, and 12+1 of the public’s favorite photos on display, along with the stories behind them, are printed in the MyBudapest 2018 calendar. Proceeds go directly to the photographers featured. 

The project aims to draw attention to the problem of homelessness, challenge stereotypes and narrow the gap between different segments of society by giving homeless people a chance to show off their talent and provide an insight into their everyday life.

photos: Mátyás Szöllősi