Budapest Is Looking for Its Next Big Poster — And It Could Be Yours
If you’ve ever strolled through Budapest and noticed its vibrant street art, colourful advertising pillars, and eye-catching city posters, you already know that this city takes visual communication seriously. Now, Budapest is inviting creative minds to design the next big public campaign — one that could plaster the entire city with your artwork. And the cause behind it? A small but mighty concept known as the 1% tax donation.
What Is the 1% Tax Donation in Hungary?
Hungary has a uniquely democratic tax system feature that many visitors find fascinating. Every Hungarian personal income taxpayer can direct 1% of their annual income tax to a civil organisation of their choice. Crucially, this doesn’t cost the taxpayer a single extra forint — the money would otherwise simply flow into the general state budget. It’s not a donation from your own pocket; it’s a redirection of funds you’ve already paid. One small decision, one percentage point, yet it can mean the world to a grassroots NGO running community programs, protecting human rights, or supporting vulnerable families across Hungary.
Despite how simple and cost-free this act is, many people simply forget to do it when filing their taxes. That’s precisely the problem that Budapest’s newest creative competition is trying to solve.
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The Poster Design Competition Taking Over Budapest
The Budapest City Council, the Civilizáció Coalition, and the Central European University (CEU) have joined forces to launch a public poster design competition with a clear mission: to flood Budapest’s streets with creative, eye-catching reminders that encourage people to make their 1% tax donation to civil organisations. The initiative reflects the broader recognition that civil society is indispensable to everyday life in Hungary — whether it involves community building, advocacy, or essential public services.
The competition is open to all Hungarian citizens aged 18 and over, and the submission deadline is Sunday, 19 April 2026, at 23:59. Entries must be submitted online via the official competition form. Each participant may submit up to five designs.
What Kind of Poster Are They Looking For?
The organisers are not after a typical corporate advertisement. They want bold, personal, creative work that speaks in your own voice. The poster should not promote any specific organisation or cause — rather, it should capture attention and remind people that the 1% option exists and that it’s entirely up to them where that money goes. Think of it as a civic wake-up call disguised as art.
Entries can be made with traditional analogue techniques, but must be submitted digitally. The required format is JPEG, at a resolution of 118.5×175 cm at 72 DPI, in RGB colour mode, with a recommended compression quality of 100%. If you used artificial intelligence tools in creating your work, you’ll need to declare this when uploading your submission.
A Jury of Budapest’s Creative and Civil Leaders
Submitted works will be evaluated by a five-member professional jury bringing together expertise from the worlds of graphic design, civil society, and academia. The panel includes Gábor Bakos, founder and managing director of ARC; Anna Róza Donáth from the Budapest City Hall Civil Office; Bálint Farkas, communications coordinator of the Civilizáció Coalition; Soma György Mályi, head of the Graphics Group and lead designer at the Budapest City Communications Office; and Blanka Szilasi, programme coordinator at CEU. The jury will evaluate all valid entries on 21 April 2026.
What Does the Winner Get?
The winning design will be purchased by the Budapest Cultural Centre for a gross prize of 200,000 Hungarian forints, transferred within 30 days of notification. But beyond the financial reward, the winning poster will appear across hundreds of locations throughout Budapest — inside public transport vehicles, at bus and metro stops, in libraries, and in municipal institutions. Your artwork, seen by millions.
The top ten designs selected by the jury — including the winner — will also be exhibited at the CEU building on 15 Nádor Street in Budapest’s 5th district, one of the university’s landmark downtown buildings located just a short walk from the Danube. The exhibition opening is expected on Thursday, 21 May 2026, giving the public a chance to appreciate the city’s most compelling civic art in one place.
Why This Competition Matters Beyond the Prize
Budapest has a rich tradition of public art and community engagement, and this competition taps right into that spirit. Civil organisations in Hungary operate across an incredibly diverse range of fields — from environmental advocacy to child protection, from homelessness support to human rights. Many of these groups rely significantly on 1% contributions to sustain their programmes. When people forget to tick that box on their tax return, real projects stall and real communities lose out.
For visitors exploring Budapest, this campaign is a beautiful window into how the city’s residents engage with civic life. Keep an eye out — if the winning poster rolls out as planned, you might spot it on the metro, in a library, or on a city lightbox as you wander through the streets. And if you happen to be a creative with Hungarian citizenship, well — the deadline is April 19th, and Budapest is waiting for your idea.
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