Therapy

Therapy* is the main exhibition of the Küszöb Festival which reflects on the situation of the youngest generation of artist. The project used group therapy as a tool to show how the young artists of today see their present and future in Hungary. The contemporary art scene, as well as the cultural field in general, is full of untold grievances, disappointments and sorrows. One of the goals of this self-awareness group was to help the participating artists to articulate their problems and to realize that they are not alone with their difficulties.

The Therapy project is based on the research of the curator Tamás Don—The chances of young artists in the contemporary Hungarian institutional system. Two psychologists led the self-awareness group of ten young artists, who were chosen by the curator. It was an important aspect to have different personalities and various artistic practices in the group. Since September 2017, the artists attended group events where they started to discuss the personal difficulties that they encountered at the outset of their careers and tried to define the failings of the current institutional system. The last group meeting was held in February 2018. In the second phase of the collaboration, the participants aimed to formulate suggestions which could solve the problems of the institutional system without the need for massive funding.

The project consists of three parts:

Artworks
The exhibited artworks were created at the end of the therapy and are reactions to the current situation of the exhibiting artists and to the imperfections of the institutional system of contemporary art.

Psychologists
The two psychologists—Dávid Szabolcsi and Bence Szekeres-Gaál—who lead the group events, also share their own experiences and observations. They are also in the starting phase of their career.

Suggestions
Our aim was that the problems artists have to face in this early stage of their career would be articulated by the end of the therapy. It was important from the very beginning that these discussions were not solely about the negative aspects of the institutional system, since we also wanted to formulate suggestions how to improve it. On the wall opposite the entrance, there is a list of the imperfections and problems of the current system, but we also added another list with the different development goals of the participating artists, which can also be relevant for every young professional.

*“Self-awareness group” would be the proper term in psychological parlance.