Second Generation Living Labs Identikit: "People's Theatre" / KÖME

A series of publications introducing the institutions forming the second generation Living Labs and their projects - here is the kick off with KÖME

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Name of the organisation: Kulturális Örökség Menedzserek Egyesülete / KÖME or Association of Cultural Heritage Managers / KÖME. The name of the project proposed for RECHARGE is "People's Theatre"

Based in: Budapest, Hungary

Mission: Népszínház or “People’s Theatre” is an emerging heritage institution located in the 8th district of Budapest in Népszínház street, named after the theatre that stood here until 1965. PT has been launched in October 2023 by KÖME Association of Cultural Heritage Managers in collaboration with the local municipality and the artist network Pneuma Szöv. Since 2013, KÖME has created discourse platforms on heritage, promoting a holistic ecological mindset and collaborative, horizontal work structures. PT aims to develop this historically rich area by safeguarding its heritage and empowering inhabitants as active agents of heritigisation.

Business model idea: People’s Theatre has been an important artery of Budapest, serving as a gathering place for newcomers to the city and for merchants, artisans and artists from the 1850s. Nowadays the street, deprived of its theatre, is best known as the antechamber of the district’s 'ghetto romanticism' with diverse populations mainly from Hungary, Africa and Asia. The diversity of people with their skills and knowledge could be an important asset for the economic and social development of the street, yet this diversity rather seems to be an obstacle to change today. As of now, there are no platforms for intercultural interactions and lasting alliances. The same goes for the cultural initiatives of the district. They could support each other and make each other’s operation more sustainable if they would collaborate and share resources. PT reinstates the idea that neighbourhood is heritage, in order to promote its value towards the stakeholders connected to it. We believe that the shared challenges coming from social segmentation, decaying built heritage and financial scarcity could be tackled effectively by creating a network between the different stakeholders. The playful and imaginative restitution of “People’s Theatre” could give this a great impulse. 

"As an NGO dealing with bottom-up heritage making, we are keen to build up an ongoing dialogue with heritage institutions in Hungary and beyond, in order to give and receive impulses and share perspectives about how the notion and practices of heritage can be updated for our current times. We believe that a key to the sustainability of our institutions is to build transversal alliances and translocal networks. The RECHARGE Living Lab, as dynamic networks with an experimental approach, represents a step towards our sustainability."

Árpád Bőczén, president of KÖME