Márton Mónus: 90

Hemző Károly Award 2021

Visiting is free of charge
June 24, 2022 – September 24, 2022
Monday–Saturday: 9am–7pm
Closed on Sunday and on public holidays.
Capa Center – 8F Gallery
Curator: Klára Szarka

The Oltalom Charity Association started to take advantage of sports as a character-building therapeutic activity in its social work in 2005. Since then, weekly football practice sessions, both in the capital and at countryside locations, have become one of the main focuses of their activity. The original idea actually came from their protegees: clients at the homeless shelter asked if they could play football every once in a while. So they started to play, on a hobby level, just for fun.

Ever since, the association aims to provide regular and free opportunities for sports activities for people living in extreme poverty, for the homeless, for juvenile delinquents living in detention homes, for children with behavioral disorders, and for refugees. The latter has gained special importance recently because of the war in Ukraine. In the regular practice sessions, the players not only learn the rules and techniques of football but also improve their skills required for cooperation and collaboration/teamwork, which can be of great use in everyday life, at school, or at work. In order to enhance the latter aspect, the association has founded a championship called the Fair Play Football Roadshow. During these events, groups of different social status and from varying backgrounds get to meet and play against each other. These championships help to build bridges between conflicting groups, whether they are divided by real or perceived conflicts. For instance, a team of the police competes with local clubs or segregated and marginalized/underprivileged groups. The teams set the framework and the rules for the game together in a democratic manner, through dialogue, which helps the players take away from the football field the mentality of a cooperative group for their daily lives. Thus, these games also foster a peaceful, prejudice-free coexistence.

The young players also have access to additional services such as training in key skills for the labor market, language classes, and scholarship programmes. The players improve skills like perseverance and self-control during practice and matches. Through football, the association makes the life of underprivileged adults and children more complete. While they play, even if only briefly, they can leave behind everyday worries, grief, and problems. They can put their heart and soul into playing and turn into football players for 90 minutes.

Márton Mónus studied to become a biology and chemistry professor. However, he started working as a stringer photographer for the magazine HVG during his university studies, in 2016. In 2018 he graduated as a photojournalist at the György Bálint Academy of Journalism of the National Association of Hungarian Journalists (MÚOSZ). In the same year, he started working as a freelance photojournalist for the Hungarian News Agency (MTI). In 2020 he became a non-staff contributor at Reuters and at dpa. In 2021 he won the Hemző Károly Award. He works on his personal projects for a long period of time, sometimes for years. His work and approach is characterized by a human-centered and inquiring attitude towards social issues and phenomena.