GRAFFITI WALL AT THE ETELE SQUARE AND NÉPSZÍNHÁZ STREET STATIONS OF THE 4TH LINE OF THE METRO

On September 19th 2008 Gábor Demszky, Mayor of the City of Budapest legitimized the boarding fence at the Etele Square and Népszínház Street stations of the 4th line of the metro as graffiti walls. From today on the boarding fences handed over as part of the anti-graffiti campaign are available for anybody to paint on them. The objective of the organizers of this action is to draw the attention of residents to the extraordinary damage graffiti cause to the image of the city and the raison d'être of artistic graffiti if warrantable under the law.

The DBR Metro Project Directorate was glad to offer the boarding fences to the Office of City Image Counsel and the „I love Budapest” initiative. Otherwise the objective of this wide-ranging initiative is to make the façade of 250 buildings and 800 shops in the environs of the Nagykörút (Grand Boulevard) free of graffiti. Apart from exploring and assuring legitimate surfaces the organizers of this initiative seek to get rid of illegal graffiti in the city and make residents aware of the difference between illegal graffiti and legitimate artistic graffiti: whilst illegal graffiti must be eradicated by all means, legitimate artistic graffiti deserves allocated surfaces.
At the ceremony attended by the executives of municipal authorities and artists that took place at 9.30 a.m. at Etele Square as the first step of this initiative Gábor Demszky, Mayor, handed over to the artists the giant legalized graffiti board offered by the DBR Metro Project Directorate of the BKV Private Ltd. The boarding fence at the site of the Népszínház Street (Köztársaság Square) metro station offers room for artistic self-expression on the Pest side.
This initiative is in line with the DB’s endeavor to make the 4th line of the metro under construction the emblem of the 21st century modern Budapest and to become the patron of culture, modern art and distinctive initiatives. Since last years artistic works have been exhibited on the boarding fences of the metro station at Rákóczi Square, and the best works of a global graffiti contest have been shown at a recently opened exhibition. Young artists painted a metro train on the boarding fence around the site of the metro station on Kálvin Square, including an invitation to the local cultural events. A giant cityscape and imprints of thousands of human palms decorate the boarding fences at Gellért Square and Baross Square, and similar artistic works introducing the splendor of the city will soon be seen on Fővám Square and Móricz Zsigmond Circus. Moreover, next week the construction site of the metro will host an extraordinary underground theatre performance, and a extravagant concert is planned this autumn.
DBR Metro Project Directorate