Life in District XI, Újbuda, has been busy recently: new places have opened, festivals staged and literary brunches now await hungry bookworms. In May, Budapest100, B32 Gallery and the Association of Young Writers will be catering to aficionados of culture. Then in June, the popular mini-festival series Gárdonyi Picnics is taking place for another year.

The emerging cultural life of District XI and along Bartók Béla út is a great example of how powerful community initiatives can be. One of these is an event on 3 and 4 May, connecting literature and architecture, courtesy of the Association of Young Writers (FISZ). Kép-Szöveg-Budapest (‘Picture-Text-Budapest’) is being held at the B32 Gallery, with talks, readings, exhibition openings and concerts.

Zsófia Szilágyi will talk about the literature of the ’30s and ’40s, and the representation of architectural styles in writing. Then, the next day, an exhibition will feature illustrations by students of art and design university MOME, all inspired by Bauhaus. The event is closed by a musical literary event, born out of the collaboration of alternative musician László Kollár-Klemecz and writer Krisztián Grecsó.

This is then followed by Budapest100, when architecturally significant buildings open for the public. This architectural festival is also hosting a masterclass for URBACT, where international guests can observe the proceedings and organise a similar event in their home countries, based on their experience.

You don’t have to wait long for the next event on Bartók Béla út: Gárdonyi Picnics are being held on 30 May, 6 and 13 June. These free attractions involve outdoor concerts and other activities on Gárdonyi tér, with performers such as the Budapest Jazz Orchestra, Veronika Harcsa and Los Orangutanes.

There will be plenty of lemonade to go round, as well as a design market and a board-game corner. The May picnic is also a pre-party for another events series called Eleven Tavasz, so it will be more large-scale than the two in June, with projections and an exhibition on regional history.

You can find more information HERE.