A Black Lives Matter Statue to be erected in Budapest

Krisztina Baranyi, the mayor of District 9 in Budapest, has published a municipal decision on the evaluation of the open competition ‘Public Art’ for public spaces in Ferencváros (the name of District 9 in Budapest), which includes, among other things, a project called Black Lives Matter.

The news was reported by Telex. The statue will be placed in Ferenc Square between 1 April 2021 and 14 April 2021. As for the work of Péter Szalay, the professional jury wrote:

“A public memorial sculpture paraphrase that still connects to and brings to play current social and political issues: Black Lives Matter, prejudices about society regarding the LGBTQ community. The kneeling gesture of the sculpture also refers to the sculptural decision-making movements in the public space; it also makes us think about the current situation of the work of art. The language, which can be easily decoded from the street even for a simple recipient, meets the requirements of public art with the caption.”

No further information has been revealed about the dimensions and characters of the statue.

The Black Live Matter movement began in the United States against discrimination against black people and police violence against black people. On May 25, a police officer knelt on the neck of a black man, George Floyd, who later died, for 8 minutes 46 seconds. According to surveys, between the end of May and mid-June alone, 15 to 26 million Americans protested for black people’s rights, according to researchers interviewed by The New York Times.

The district of Ferencváros is famous for the football team Ferencváros T.C., which competes in the Champions League in the same group as Juventus and Barcelona.

Krisztina Baranyi, the mayor of Ferencváros, is also trying to find a solution to the parking chaos. Free parking during the pandemic has often brought chaos, mostly in the capital. The majority of mayors are looking for a solution to how the problem could be solved, or at least mitigated, writes Népszava.

Krisztina Baranyi and her assistants indicated with paint in several parking lots in the district that these parking lots were reserved for local residents.

The district leader justified all this by claiming that the situation in Ferencváros has become unbearable since people do not have to pay for parking. She also indicated that the number of these places is limited, so she asks everyone to use the underground garages and parking garages made free of charge for the night.

Source: Telex.hu Népszava