WHAT IS PHOTO BRUT? – At the Crossroads of Art, Photography and Psychiatry Conference at the Robert Capa Contemporary Photography Center
Conference at the Robert Capa Contemporary Photography Center
This international conference examines photo brut as an instinctive photographic practice at the crossroads of photography, psychology, psychiatry, art history, art market, and art brut. Organized by the Robert Capa Contemporary Photography Center in cooperation with Foto Arsenal Wien, the event accompanies the exhibitions in both institutions, featuring works from Bruno Decharme’s collection. Through thematic panels and a roundtable discussion, the program addresses art historical, medical, ethical, and art market–related perspectives on photo brut.
Art brut – and specifically photo brut – represents a relatively young and evolving branch in the history of art. The conference builds on the growing momentum of the field, exploring a medium that is only now beginning to be fully integrated into the broader art historical canon and institutional research.
The conference also offers a rare opportunity to explore the Psychiatric Art Collection of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and to meet the collector himself, Bruno Decharme.
Accompanying event of the exhibition PHOTO I BRUT – Instinctive Photography – Insights into the Bruno Decharme Collection from Paris.
PHOTO I BRUT – Instinctive Photography – Insights into the Bruno Decharme Collection from Paris
Date:
Monday, March 9, 2026, 09:00
Location:
Robert Capa Contemporary Photography Center
1065 Budapest, Nagymező utca 8.
(Event Hall)
Partners:
FOTO ARSENAL WIEN
System B / Collection Bruno Decharme
Psychiatric Art Collection of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences / ELTE RCA – Institute of Art History
French Institute of Hungary
Embassy of Switzerland in Hungary
Program:
09:15 – 09:30 (15 min.) Coffee & registration
09:30 – 09:40 (15 min.) GREETINGS
● Matthieu Berton, director of the French Institute of Hungary
● Alexander Renggli, Ambassador of Switzerland to Hungary
● Bruno Decharme, Collector, abcd Collection – Paris, France
● István Virágvölgyi, Artistic Director, Robert Capa Contemporary Photography Center, Budapest, Hungary
● Felix Hoffmann, Artistic Director, Foto Arsenal Wien – Vienna, Austria
09:40 – 10:40 (15+15 min. lectures, 30 min. Q&A) ART BRUT AND PHOTOGRAPHY
● Barbara Safarova, Exhibition Curator, Art Writer, President of abcd Collection – Paris, France
● Stefanie Hoch, Curator, Director of Kunstmuseum Thurgau – Ittingen, Switzerland
Moderated by Emese Mucsi, Curator, Capa Center – Budapest, Hungary
10:50 – 12:00 (70 min.) GUIDED TOUR OF THE EXHIBITION
Bruno Decharme, Collector, abcd Collection in conversation with curators Emese Mucsi and András Váradi
12:00 – 13:00 (60 min.) Lunch break
13:00 – 14:00 (15+15 min. lectures, 30 min. Q&A) PSYCHIATRY, MEDICINE, AND PHOTOGRAPHY
● Katrin Luchsinger, Art Historian, Curator, Researcher, Zurich University of the Arts – Zurich, Switzerland
● Monika Perenyei, Art Historian, Photo Historian, Psychiatric Art Collection, Hungarian Academy of Sciences – Budapest, Hungary
Moderated by Monika Pietrzak-Franger, Professor, University of Vienna – Vienna, Austria
14:10 – 15:20 (70 min.) ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION
Ethical issues surrounding the presentation of works by individuals living with psychiatric conditions
● Benedek Farkas, Independent Researcher, Liliput Theatre Archive – Budapest, Hungary
● Bruno Decharme, Collector, abcd Collection – Paris, France
● Judit Szalipszki, Curator, Trafó Gallery – Budapest, Hungary
Moderated by István Virágvölgyi, Artistic Director, Robert Capa Contemporary Photography Center – Budapest, Hungary
16:15 – 17:15 (60 min.) VISIT TO THE PSYCHIATRIC ART COLLECTION OF THE HUNGARIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES
Address: 1097 Budapest, Tóth Kálmán Street 4, Building B, 6th floor (30 mins. by public transport) (REGISTRATION IS FULL)
Monika Perenyei, Art Historian, Photo Historian, Psychiatric Art Collection, Hungarian Academy of Sciences – Budapest, HungaryMax 12 people/visit.
Registration required: emese.mucsi@capacenter.hu
We reserve the right to make changes to the program.
