There can be almost nothing new to see for the real hardcore fans of Budapest''s nightlife, since the city is a superpower when it comes to ruin pubs. Although there is WNDRLND on Margaret Island, right next to Holdudvar, which opened not so long ago, and it is quite an extreme and inventive project regarding its idea and its design. We wandered in the concept''s parallel universe with Tibor Bosznai (owner), Noémi Nádudvari (art director), later we took a walk in the interior''s dream world with Bertalan Zsili Babos (polihistor).
Let's take it step by step chronologically, so we shall begin with the concept. We always need groundbreaking ideas, when we want to create new colors for an existing rainbow; it is exactly the same case here. WNDRLND did successfully cover up the hole on the wall of the party places of Budapest, because there was an obvious need for a place connected to culture and contemporary art.WNDRLND was based on foreign examples (especially from London), where urban art, streetart and generally any kind of art are much more part of the everyday life, than here; and it was also based on the formerly unknown connection between art and nightlife. The owners’ goal is (besides the quality hospitality) to create opportunities for the unique, original artists, who would deserve bigger attention to introduce themselves, and at the same time to show these peculiar parallel universes in order to crush the stereotypes about them.
Personal weeksThe concept is executed with classic elements from exhibitions by the authors, while they use their very own ideas. These artists (Tamás Ál, Bertalan Zsili Babos, Tamás Bakó, András Baranyai, Balázs Bradák, Breakone, Katalin Berinkey, Kata Farkas, Márk Fridvalszki, Emese Hegyháti, Anna Jánosi, Balázs Juhász, Noémi Mondik, Kata Moravszki, Mr. Zero, Péter Szabó-Lencz, Balázs Lobot Szabó, Gáspár Szőke, Erika Szurcsik) not only shape the interior of this altar of creativity, but the menu, the programs, the workshops and the music all depend on their taste.
The offered food puts you in the mood of a garden party, but you can find different versions of tortillas and single dishes as well. Chefs come and go every month (the first one behind the stoves is Dániel András Bernát), so it also guarantees variety especially with the artists’ different taste.
Looks are not deceivingWhile they were creating the graphics (designed by Dániel Jani's imagination) of the place, the main goal was to be personal, but still formable, so the artists could be in the spotlight. The main component of WNDRLND's introducing marketing campaign was the flyer-designing competition, which showed the open, community-forming idea behind the whole action. The audience could vote on Facebook, and Erika Szurcsik won the grand prize, her creation can be seen in the Nagy Diófa Street as a bilboard.
WNDRLND's groovy interior was created by BertalanZsiliBabos, who was responsible for many other culture pubs' look before (such as Szatyor, Csendes, Púder). Without any need for new materials, Zsili used his own collection, some stuff thrown away from random people, or things collected from construction places. These sometimes provocative installations (like the chandelier made of mannequins) are the perfect tools for the birth of new ideas and the associations, while they also create an inspiring, perfect atmosphere for those, who wish to run away from the serious reality. Their main goal while they created the space was to set up an area, which enhances the forming of a community, this is the reason, why the tables are so close to each other, so discussions or future projects could easily begin here.
