Our Mission

Discover Our Mission

In essence we are a creative and educational lab challenging the false dichotomies guiding contemporary music-making. Categories like progressive vs. conservative, freedom vs. tradition or intellectual vs. embodied are all extremely influential in how music is practiced and perceived today, yet they all crumble under the slightest critical examination. We believe the contemporary music world desperately needs better frameworks; ones we can actually stand behind and build meaningful cultural exchange upon. 

While this concept might sound overly theoretical, our methods are refreshingly direct. In our intensive residencies we open creative and learning spaces where these divisions spontaneously disappear; hierarchies naturally rotate, educational rigour and free exploration complement each other, inclusion and critical reflection are almost indistinguishable. 

Each residency is distinct in content but governed by a similar approach in juxtaposing opposites – ideas that by conventional wisdom should be contradictory and then we together witness the result. 

Take “DIY,” the focus of our last large-scale residency as an example. Everything from the schedule to meals operated through direct democracy. We traced DIY’s genealogy throughout the western canon, learnt to build acoustic instruments or solder electronic devices with components shipped from overseas. Remaining reflective and critical at every turn, we let the emerging contradictions teach us.

We have no admission criteria, no target demographic – these would run contrary to our aims. Our participants and mentors have come from the most diverse backgrounds: early music to noise art, amateur artists to internationally renowned musicians, practitioners to scholars.

We seek people who are deeply devoted to music yet find themselves outside the conventional paths – whether they’ve left traditional institutions or never found their way into them. We seek the refusal to settle for the current state of things and readiness to tackle fundamental questions rigorously yet creatively.

Led by young professionals and advised by international experts, our European network has grown through Erasmus+ partnerships, bringing together diverse perspectives from across the continent. Beyond the annual residencies, we’re building lasting infrastructure: online communities, educational programs, think-tanks, and partnerships with institutions and civil organizations ready for change. 

Participant Reflections

The model of “Hangzavart”, reminiscent of academic nature mainly in its positives, and harnessing the power of bottom-up organization, provides an extremely favorable balance for young musicians blessed with activity, dedication, and creativity. The initiative deals with talents in an alternative manner: it provides space for them and allows them to create. It builds on community and interaction – self-reflection and participants reflecting on each other are crucial in the working process. In contrast to the perspective of most academies for composers and other creative musicians, which prioritize technical craftsmanship, “Hangzavart” emphasizes the intellectual sphere of artistic creation, opening up space for relevant intellectual debates. Rather than hierarchical professor-student relationships, it is characterized by mentor-mentee relationships based on partnership, placing the responsibility for the outcome of the work primarily on the participants, thus inviting them to genuine thinking and initiative. “Hangzavart” is also an experience – all circumstances are given for the participants to form a community in which, beyond contributing to each other’s professional work, strong cohesion can develop in a human sense among the members.

Dániel Láposi

percussionist, composer • Hungary

So many of the things I learned and experiences from HZT 2023 are still resonating. Working for ten full days and nights with stellar creative minds, listening to plans and ideas, receiving lasting inspiration from comments made by some of the brightest lights in the European art community, surrounded by woods in a campsite built by and for artists. Every minute, every conversation unforgettable.

John Duncan

performance artist • USA

I first came across the self-described non-academic residency Hangzavart? on a social media platform in the spring of 2023. As I filled in the application form, intrigued by the tastefully curated graphics of the project, I was unsure of what to expect from it. However, Hagzavart? turned out to be one of the most transformative experiences in my artistic journey: the 10 days I spent in the bucolic scenery of Zebegény were a time of intellectual & emotional frenzy filled with lectures, workshops, midnight impro sessions, passionate talks around the campfire and tête-à-têtes with mentors on topics ranging from interventional performance to early music/ modular synthesis/ extended vocal techniques, to name just a few.
Aside from the visionary & highly de-institutionalized approach to music-learning, Hagzavart? has another less obvious merit, for it presented its participants with the brief but blissful vision of an alternative lifestyle; during the 10 days, 25 musicians from various cultures and economical backgrounds were immersed in a communal way of living in the most literal sense of the word: whether it was dish washing or putting together a performance, the power dynamics within the group were at all times non- authoritarian, and tensions between parties with different ideological standpoints were resolved in a democratic, equalitarian and deeply empathetic spirit. In this respect, I believe Hangzavart? can be viewed as an empowering social experiment of a life evading the capitalist structures of hierarchy, one that I am thankful for having been part of.

Dana Mihordea

singer • Romania

So far, I have had the opportunity to teach on all three courses of “Hangzavart”: lecturing, leading workshops and giving consultations to young artists. The freedom of events is an unparalleled asset. Although some of the best of the youngest musicians come, the musical quality of the projects vary; but the open discourse, embedded in today’s intellectual and social issues, draws everyone up. The invited lecturers are prominent artists from the national and European scene. The organisation and the venues are well suited to the free and youthful nature of the events.

János Bali

conductor, scholar, composer • Hungary

Partner Organisations

Our Collaborative Network

We work in close collaboration with a network of cultural institutions across Europe. Our current partners include…