Vasarely2026–Pécs

“It is nobler to give to everyone than to keep everything for ourselves and our loved ones.”
Victor Vasarely

JPM VASARELY MUSEUM 50

The Art of the Future — Half a Century in Pécs. In 2026, the city of Pécs celebrates a double anniversary: 50 years since the opening of the JPM Vasarely Museum — a milestone in Hungarian cultural life. The fact that a Vasarely museum was established in our city in the same year as the one in France is of universal cultural-historical significance. At the same time, we celebrate the 120th anniversary of the birth of Victor Vasarely, the revolutionary of visual thinking who taught us to see the world from a new perspective.

Over the past fifty years, Pécs has proven that culture is not decoration, but a community-shaping force. The city’s creative spirit continues to influence the local economy, public life, and every generation that lives, studies, or moves here.

For the jubilee year, Pécs’ internationally renowned flagship exhibition — the JPM Vasarely Museum — will be renewed, and the cultural programmes will be presented under the unified city season title “Vasarely 2026 – Pécs.”

VASARELY TODAY - THE LEGACY IN A NEW REFRACTION

Victor Vasarely’s artistic legacy extends far beyond our city, our country, and even Europe. The internationally acclaimed master born in Pécs was one of the greatest innovators of 20th-century fine art — the father of op art and kinetic art. He foresaw that the future of art lay in collective creativity. He stepped beyond the walls of exhibition spaces into fashion, architecture, design, and popular culture. His art is universal: it opened the way toward future artistic movements, including digital art. He created a universal visual language accessible and experienceable for all. The jubilee year places the Vasarely oeuvre in a contemporary context and demonstrates how the spirit of op art continues to live on in 21st-century creative culture.

PARTNERSHIP & SUPPORT

The Vasarely Year is realised under the professional leadership of the Janus Pannonius Museum, in cooperation with the University of Pécs, the city’s cultural institutions, and the local creative industries — connecting art, science, design, and Pécs’ cultural, tourism, and economic networks.

One of Pécs’ most internationally recognised cultural brands is now ready for renewal — and we are seeking partners for this journey. Partners who believe that collaboration strengthens both the city and their own value. Now is the moment to write the next fifty years together — one of the most significant cultural stories of Pécs.

Main events of the Vasarely 2026 – Pécs

• 13 January – 29 March: Plastic units and programmable textures – Exhibition of Victor Vasarely in the JPM Museum of Modern Hungarian Art
• 26 February: "Vasarely Go Home!" lecture (JPM Museum of Modern Hungarian Art)
• 4 March: Vasarely 2026 – Pécs visual identity design competition – announcement of results (JPM Museum of Modern Hungarian Art)
• From 9 April: Vasarely 50: the reopening of the renewed JPM Vasarely Museum on Victor Vasarely's birthday. Open again from 12:00
• 16 April – 30 April: Vasarely: Future Echoes – exhibition by the Faculty of Arts, University of Pécs (Nádor Gallery)
• 9 April – 15 September: Medicine in op-art style. Vasarely's conference posters at the University History Collection of Pécs (University of Pécs Library and Knowledge Centre – 3 Szepesy Street, Pécs)
• 28 May – 11 October: Vasarely 120 – Contemporary visual art reflections on op art (Zsolnay Quarter, m21 Gallery)
• 6 June – 15 October: Claire Vasarely temporary exhibition (JPM Museum Gallery)
• 6 June: Birthday party – 50 years of the Vasarely Museum
• 13 June: VASARELY – A SYMPHONY OF GEOMETRY co-production concert (Kodály Centre, pontPÉCS Festival)
• 20 June: Night of Museums – Vasarely Museum 50
• 2 July – 23 August: Vasarely Light: an exhibition of light art (Zsolnay Quarter, m21 Gallery)
• 2–5 July: 10th Zsolnay Light Festival – Plasti-Cité // Colourful city (city centre and Zsolnay Quarter)
• 8–18 October: DesignPécs – with a Vasarely theme
• Mid-November – 31 January 2027: From shape to form. A selection of Victor Vasarely's figurative works – temporary exhibition featuring pieces from the Vasarely Museum Budapest and the JPM (JPM Museum Gallery)
• Mid-November: Exhibition of school Vasarely competition entries (JPM Csontváry Museum temporary exhibition space)

Join the VASARELY 50 jubilee year!
Let us reinterpret Vasarely’s legacy together, in community, through shared creation!

CONTACT

Janus Pannonius Museum
Vasarely 50 Project Coordination
Emese Iványi
uh.mpj@veylerasav
vasarelyev.hu