Trafó's PerformanceBus hits the road again! The route this time is Mende – Csévharaszt – Tápiószele – Cegléd.

Participating artists and collaborators: Imre Dénes, Szilárd Fajka, László Horváth, Zsófia Joós, Gábor Kiss, István Kovács, Gida Labus, Attila Lestyán & Veronika Szabó (Seven Trials Theatre Troupe), Erzsébet Reznák, Zsuzsa Rózsavölgyi, Noémi Noya Szántusz, Mikolt Tózsa, Yo8vagyat, József Zakar

Meeting point: 9 a.m. in front of Trafó

IN SHORT: PerformanceBus is a nomadic project with which we travel to different regions of Hungary, where we encounter and collaborate with local communities and partners The aim of the trip is to share experiences and start a much-needed dialogue on issues we have in common—that affect us all, even if we experience them differently.

Be prepared: it’s a full-day program in Hungarian. If you are interested and need translation, let us know at nagyzsuzsi@trafo.hu and we will find a solution!

In autumn 2025, Trafó launched a new initiative titled PerformanceBus in collaboration with Prague-based Studio ALTA. The project invites us to travel to different regions of the country, where we meet local communities and partners around shared concerns through artistic events. The aim of the journey is to foster exchange and dialogue around issues that, although experienced differently, affect us all. Participating artists and the ‘travelling audience’ set off together on the bus. While events also take place on board, the focus of the program is on the stops and the encounters. The trip lasts a full day, returning to Budapest late in the evening.

On Saturday, February 28, the PerformanceBus sets off again—this time to Pest County.
Our first stop is the tree nursery in Mende, part of the Monor Forestry Service, where we begin tracing the journey of wood and learn about the past, present, and future of Hungarian forestry. We then travel to the forestry workshop in Csévharaszt, where experimental musician Labus Gida, performance artist and forester István Kovács, and visual artist and performer Imre Dénes present site-specific performances created especially for this location.
From the outset, two chroniclers—Veronika Szabó and Attila Lestyán, founders of the Seven Trials Theatre Troupe—appear as time-travelling guides accompanying us along the way. On the bus, theatre-maker Mikolt Tózsa offers a preview of her upcoming performance szerelem áthúzva (love crossed out), supported by the Staféta program.

Our next stop is the National Centre for Biodiversity and Gene Conservation in Tápiószele, Hungary’s largest gene bank, which has played a key role in national variety protection and biodiversity conservation since 1885. Experts will guide us through the site, while the Yo8vagyat gastro-collective prepares a two-course ‘biodiverse’ lunch in the former canteen. Their menu responds both to the urgency of climate-conscious production and eating (in connection with Trafó’s ongoing artistic research Becoming CLIMAVORE) and cures us of our lingering cafeteria-related PTSD.
After lunch, dancer and choreographer Zsuzsa Rózsavölgyi helps us digest with a participatory lecture on GMO seeds, piglets and her family history, posing questions around resilience and self-sufficiency.

From Tápiószele we continue to the Kossuth Museum in Cegléd, which preserves the memory of the legendary Hungarian politician Lajos Kossuth and his family, researching the cult around Kossuth. Erzsébet Reznák and József Zakar (former and current museum directors) present a lecture on the formation of the Kossuth cult—consciously shaped by Kossuth himself, his followers, and later generations. How did he rise as massively supported “populist leader” and how does such a powerful cult endure? The lectures are followed by an action painting performance by László Horváth and Gábor Kiss, members of the Cegléd Artists’ Association, who explore the relationship between art and personality cult in a new work created for the occasion.

Our final stop is the Thermal Bath in Cegléd, where we join the evening bathing session. In the Finnish sauna, local sauna master Szilárd Fajka leads a sauna ritual, while theatre-maker Noémi Noya Szántusz shares a family story connected to nearby Törtel. In the relaxation area, Zsuzsa Rózsavölgyi speaks about sweating, and in one of the pools Zsófia Joós’ Aquatic Being session offers a unique floating experience. Those who prefer to unwind can relax from the day’s events in the thermal medicinal water.

Practical information for bus travellers
- Departure at 9:00 AM sharp from Trafó; return late evening, between 11:00 PM and midnight, to the same location.
- There will be many stops; we never travel more than one hour at a time.
- A late lunch (around 3:00 PM) is included—please pack enough food for the morning.
- Dinner can be purchased at the Cegléd Thermal Bath buffet, or you may bring your own.
- Please bring snacks and drinks, as we are not planning any shopping stops.
- We will spend much of the morning outdoors—bring warm, layered clothing and waterproof shoes. The bus runs in rainy weather; most venues are covered.
- The journey ends with communal bathing, so don’t forget your swimsuit, flip-flops, and towel. Practical information for local participants joining at individual stops
Participation is free of charge (except for the thermal bath entry ticket).
Meeting times and locations:
- 10:00 – Tree nursery - Monor Forestry Service, Mende
- 11:30 – Forestry workshop - Monor Forestry Service, Csévharaszt
- 14:00 – National Centre for Biodiversity and Gene Conservation, Tápiószele
- 17:00 – Kossuth Museum, Cegléd
- 19:45 – Cegléd Thermal Bath (ticket required for on-site participants)