Meet the Curators of OFF-Biennale!
Katalin Székely, Eszter Lázár and Rita Kálmán
You might have seen the 2025 curatorial team announcement back in January, but now it’s time to get to know them better through their professional activities and their connection with OFF. First, we would like to introduce you Katalin Székely, Eszter Lázár, and Rita Kálmán.
Katalin Székely (art historian and curator) has been part of the OFF-Biennale curatorial team since day one. Over the years, alongside curatorial projects, she’s also been involved in production and communications.
“I joined - and I’m still here - because I wanted to be part of an independent, supportive, and inspiring community that helps put contemporary (Hungarian and regional) art in the spotlight. And, to put it boldly, I believe in strengthening an art discourse built on critical thinking.”
Between 2008 and 2013, she worked at Ludwig Museum with several current team members. Since 2015, she’s been the creative director at the Blinken OSA Archivum, overseeing exhibitions and public events—all while working on her PhD at Eötvös Loránd University’s Film, Media, and Contemporary Culture PhD Program.
Eszter Lázár, a curator and university lecturer based in Budapest, obtained her PhD from the Doctoral School of Literature and Cultural Studies at the University of Pécs, Hungary. She is an associate professor in the Art Theory and Curatorial Studies Programs at the Hungarian University of Fine Arts. Between 2016 and 2019, she was a researcher for the film section of the international RomArchive project. From 2020 to 2023, she was involved in a Horizon 2020 project within the EU4ART Alliance consortium on artistic research.
“In my curatorial work, I am inspired by collaborations with artists and curators, such as The Blue Room with the artist duo Tehnica Schweiz (2019) or WAITING ROOM - Women Healers and Patients at the Periphery of Medicine (2020–2021), where I participated as a co-curator.”
She is currently working with Edina Nagy on Beyond Bare Life – Neglected by Institutionalised Care, an international educational and art project.
Since 2019, she has been part of the OFF-Biennale curatorial team. In previous OFF editions (2015 and 2017), she realized projects such as When Art(ist) Speaks and The Flying Kayak in collaboration with Edina Nagy.
Rita Kálmán joined the OFF-Biennale curatorial team in 2022 through one of its projects featured at documenta fifteen, where she worked as an editor on the On the Same Page publication. For this year’s OFF, she’s taking on the role of production manager while also being part of the curatorial team.
“I’m also working with Hajnalka Somogyi on laying the foundation for the organization’s long-term future, and out of all my OFF commitments, this might be the most inspiring one.”
Outside of OFF, she runs Dot.To.Dot, a curatorial visitor program she launched in 2019. Through this initiative, she brings curators from dynamic international art scenes to Hungary for research visits.
The rest of the curatorial team:
Nikolett Erőss
Edit Molnár
Veronika Molnár
Kata Oltai
Lívia Páldi
Hajnalka Somogyi
Borbála Soós