Named as one of the essential incubators for noise music in Hungary, AQB was described as “a space in the suburbs containing many studios and a vast basement.” I was delighted to discover somewhere I hadn’t heard of.

“The Quietus” does AQB somewhat of an injustice by describing it as “a space in the suburbs.” It’s actually located in leafy, quiet Budafok on the Buda side of the Danube, an almost self-sufficient area 30 minutes away from the city center. Locals often call Budafok “a city within a city.”

AQB consists of a big project space, an equally large event space known as the Attic, a smaller event space called the Nest, a courtyard used for open-air music and performances and an enormous underground area known as the Mines, once a limestone quarry, now used for parties and events, where art literally goes underground.

There’s also another exhibition space, the Foyer, a rooftop, and a lush garden with an experimental wooden cabin.

In the 19th century, Haggenmacher Brewery was one of the big three Hungarian breweries. But in 1933, it merged with its competitors, Dreher in Kőbánya and the First Hungarian Stock-limited brewery, and the former Haggenmacher premises became a storage area.

In 2004, Haggenmacher Courtyard Ltd., owned by Wolfgang Bartesch, a German entrepreneur who fell in love with Budapest, acquired parts of the former Haggenmacher brewery and its buildings. The aim was to develop and restore the premises for real estate use. But Bartesch also had the dream of launching an independent international contemporary art center. AQB opened in 2012. In October 2025, Bartesch relaunched the Haggenmacher Brewery with a beer festival.

Today, AQB is a non-profit that rents studios to several artists and companies in the creative industries and runs an artist-in-residence program. Its international creative community includes artists from the music, applied arts, dance and visual art scenes. The 2026 exhibition and event schedule is already stuffed with diverse happenings. 

Just before the end of 2025, I chatted with owner Wolfgang Bartesch, and AQB community manager and visual artist Lilla Lőrinc, one half of the well-known artistic duo Borsos Lőrinc. They told me the AQB story: one of determination and resilience in the face of challenging odds.

Distance is a Filter

We begin with me being gently corrected when I suggest that AQB is quite the journey from central Budapest.

“Not at all,” Bartesch says. “Head for Déli Pályaudvar, hop on the S40 train and get off at Háros station, walk for a few minutes and you’re here in under half an hour.”

“We have a motto,” Lőrinc adds. “Distance is a filter. You really have to want to come here.” Many artists and art-lovers do make the journey out to AQB.

“There are about 70 artists working here, all told, who rent studios or are our artists in residence. We have studio events in the spring and fall that can attract between 500 and 800 people over a weekend,” Bartesch explains.

All an artist need do to be considered a member of the AQB community is go through a simple application process to be given a studio. “You send your portfolio and a note saying why you’d like to join us,” Lőrinc says. “Our board reviews your application and says ‘yes’ or ‘no.’”

Lőrinc estimates it took around five years before the community at AQB really took off, ironically, thanks to the pandemic.

“A lot of people decided to spend more time here than at home, and they developed a deeper connection with each other. We also made the Mines accessible and kept the vibe alive with parties and exhibitions,” she says.

Flourishing Community

That determination paid off, and now the AQB community is flourishing. Based on the artists’ photos on the website, I suggested it must be a young community. Bartesch is quick to put me right.

“Not at all. We don’t just have emerging artists. Éva Köves has a studio here. She’s well-established. She celebrated her 60th birthday here with an exhibition.”

Zsófia Keresztes, who works with major foreign galleries and exhibited her installation “After Dreams: I Dare to Defy the Damage” at the Hungarian National Pavilion of the 59th Venice Biennale in 2022, where she represented Hungary, also has a studio at AQB.

She works with others in the quarter to develop larger projects. This solidarity is important since life as a Hungarian artist is not easy.

“The art scene in Budapest is very polarized,” Lőrinc says. “And you’re either in favor or not.”

Getting funding is also a constant struggle. AQB gets no money from either the Hungarian government or the city of Budapest. Instead, it receives financial support from other cultural institutions and through its international network. Still, it operates on minuscule budgets. Despite the challenges, Lőrinc points out that Budapest has a distinctive art scene.

“Many of us live an underdog, underground life, a world away from the funding and the financial support artists in other countries might expect. But it gives us a different kind of power. Many artists who come here from abroad love this place because the art scene has an intensity that comes from the challenges we face. We keep going against all the odds,” she says. Looking ahead, Bartesch is optimistic.

“The community grows every year, as does our alumni group. We receive more input and generate more output. We have even more energy and are becoming even more powerful.”

To check out the packed event schedule at Art Quarter Budapest, visit aqb.hu.

This article was first published in the Budapest Business Journal print issue of February 13, 2026.