44th Hungarian Press Photo Exhibition: Snapshot of a Turbulent Year
Every autumn, Budapest’s Robert Capa Contemporary Photography Center opens its doors to one of Hungary’s most anticipated photographic events, and this year is no exception. The 44th Hungarian Press Photo Exhibition has just launched, offering visitors a striking visual record of the year that shaped Hungary and the wider world through the eyes of its finest photojournalists.
Event Details at a Glance
- Dates: September 16 – November 8, 2026
- Venue: Capa Center, first floor, Nagymező utca 8, Budapest
- Curator: András Bánkuti
- Opening hours: Closed Monday; Tuesday–Friday 1pm–6pm; Saturday–Sunday 10am–6pm (ticket office closes half an hour before closing)
- Admission: combined ticket covering current exhibitions, around 7,000 forints for adults, with discounts for students, seniors, and families
The exhibition brings together the very best press photography submitted to the annual Hungarian Press Photo Competition, organized by the Photojournalists’ Section of the National Association of Hungarian Journalists. This year’s competition drew an extraordinary response: 258 photographers entered 2,355 projects comprising 6,196 individual photographs, all judged by an international jury across four demanding rounds of selection.
What You’ll See on the Walls
The exhibition doesn’t just showcase winners, it tells a story about a country and its people during a year of upheaval. Political turbulence dominated headlines in 2025, yet the jury found that personal, intimate narratives resonated most strongly with photographers and audiences alike. Expect to see images touching on shifting political moods, families raising children with serious illnesses, and the disciplined world of ballet dancers, all captured with the kind of unfiltered honesty that press photography demands.
Best deals of Budapest
Among the standout pieces is Nimród, the series that earned freelance photographer Diána Nemeh the association’s top honor, the MÚOSZ Grand Prize. Equally powerful is Eighteen Years of Eternity, the deeply personal project by Telex photographer Noémi Napsugár Melegh, which won the András Kertész Grand Prize. Melegh spent years photographing her own grieving family and her late younger brother’s former classmates following his death, turning private mourning into a public and moving act of remembrance. Beyond these headline series, visitors will find the top three placements from all sixteen competition categories, several special jury prizes, and dozens of additional photographs covering a wide range of themes from daily life to major news events.
A Statement on Truth in the Age of AI
At the opening, Capa Center managing director Orsolya Kőrösi spoke about why this exhibition matters more than ever. She pointed out that as artificial intelligence makes it increasingly difficult to tell real images from synthetic ones, spaces that showcase authentic, named, and accountable photojournalism become genuinely essential. According to the competition’s rules, retouching is strictly forbidden, even minor edits disqualify an image, underscoring the show’s commitment to unaltered documentary truth.
Photographer András Bánkuti, who curated the exhibition and chairs the Photojournalists’ Section, also shared some history during the opening remarks. The very first exhibition of this kind was held back in 1982 at the Budapest University of Technology, while the accompanying photo annual, Photos of the Year, first appeared in 1992. That tradition continues this year with a newly published bilingual annual featuring the winning images alongside short biographies of the photographers.
Planning Your Visit
The Capa Center sits in Budapest’s historic theater quarter, making it an easy stop to combine with a stroll along Andrássy Avenue or an evening at one of the nearby theaters. If your schedule doesn’t allow a stop in Budapest itself, the exhibition has a traveling companion. A parallel touring show has already passed through Pécs, Siófok, Balatonföldvár, and Keszthely, and at the time of writing is on view in the square in front of the Flesch Center in Mosonmagyaróvár. For visitors who want the full experience, though, seeing the prints in person at the Capa Center, in the same building where Hungarian photojournalism has been celebrated for decades, remains the definitive way to take in this year’s collection.