Agency for Contemporary Art Exchange – ACAX

The Agency for Contemporary Art Exchange – ACAX is an independent, non-governmental initiative. Its primary goal is to build and strengthen the networks between the local and international visual art scene, to facilitate and support the presence of the contemporary Hungarian art abroad. Through a wide range of programs, ACAX initiates and maintains continuous professional exchange and collaboration between the members of the Hungarian and international art communities.

In the frame of  “Check-In Budapest” curatorial visitor program, we invite internationally renowned experts in the field of contemporary visual art to Hungary for a curatorial research trip: the directors and curators of biennials and institutions, freelancers, independent scholars, art critics writing for international journals, as well as art historians and occasionally artist. The goal of the program is to facilitate international art professionals to become acquainted with the actors and current trends of the Hungarian art scene. The program has resulted in a number of partnerships and projects with the invitation of Hungarian artists to participate in international biennials and other exhibitions. As Hungarian partner, ACAX co-ordinates and supports the artists’ involvement in these significant events, assisting also in the production of new works.

Another important area of its operations is to initiate, organize and support the participation of Hungarian artists in international artist-in-residence programs. We work together with key institutions in the world’s most significant centres of art, providing suitable working conditions for resident artists, the possibility of exchange and networking with the local art scene.

Alongside all of this, we take an active role in initiating and organizing exhibitions, conferences, public events and other projects in collaborating with international contemporary art institutions.

ACAX also acts as an important mediator in the effective distribution of information. Sometimes just offering a little help or connecting the right people is enough to forge successful collaborations. Its archive contains the catalogues, digital portfolios and publications of contemporary Hungarian artists and art institutions, and is freely accessible to researchers by prior appointment. ACAX continually upload artists’ portfolios to our website, in order to offer the possibility to become acquainted with their work, both at home and abroad.