Bálint Szajki – In Sickness and in Health

Opening: Wednesday, 11 June, 2025, 6 pm
Opening speech by Gábor Schein writer
Curator: Klára Szarka photo historian
Venue: Robert Capa Contemporary Photography Center 8F Gallery (1065 Budapest, Nagymező utca 8.)
On view: 12 June – 14 September, 2025
Every day 9 am–7 pm
Closed on public holidays.
Free admission

Hemző Prize 2024

We rarely see the true struggles of old age. The elderly often endure them behind real or symbolic walls – just as they experience death itself. Walls have often stood witness to the lives of people living among them: their youth, then their slow decline, and finally their parting – or to the long, lonely minutes, hours, and nights spent beside a spouse fading into dementia. They’ve seen the strength and exhaustion of muscles and bones over the daily work of caring for a person, and they know what emotional fatigue looks like. In this series, I set out to depict this invisible struggle, this extraordinary self-sacrifice. For three years, I followed my grandmother as she attended to my grandfather through the final chapter of his illness. I watched the pressure on her grow day by day. I knew it was getting harder with each passing year, but she never asked for assistance. It was the most natural thing in the world for her to care for her husband – until death did them apart. She never hired a nurse, never cried out for help; she pushed past her emotional and physical limits, all the way to the wall, to the brink of total exhaustion. She stayed with him, as she always had, until the very last moment. My grandfather passed away last September, just a week before his ninety-ninth birthday. It was the first time in my life I had ever stood face to face with death. I thought I was prepared – and still I froze as I watched the strongest person I had ever known slowly slip away before my eyes. This is the story of Marika and Sándor, my grandparents. And through them, my story too. They each taught me something different. My grandfather – the steadfast head of the family – remained the strongest man I knew until the end. Through him, I came to understand true dedication and perseverance. And there is my grandmother – the heart of the family – who cared for her husband alone until the end, drawing on the very last ounces of her strength. Through her, I came to know what love and selflessness truly mean.

In memoriam Sándor Leé.

The Hemző Prize

Each year, a photographer under 35 receives The Károly Hemző Prize, established in 2013, is awarded annually to a photographer under 35 whose work represents the same spirit and professional level as theThe Károly Hemző Prize, established in 2013, recognizes the work of Hungarian photographers under 35 (from Hungary and the neighboring countries) who represent the same level of professional quality and
spirit as Károly Hemző, with their photographic works in such fields as everyday life and/or work, arts, science, sports, and leisure time in Hungary and in ethnic Hungarian communities in other countries. Each year, a group of experts is invited by the Károly Hemző Foundation to nominate photographers for the prize. The Board of the prize selects the finalists and the eventual winner of the prize from this pool.

Winners of the Hemző Prize: András Hajdú D. 2014, Simon Móricz-Sabján 2015, Balázs Mohai 2016, Zsófia Pályi 2017, István Bielik 2018 (A zsűri különdíjasa Norbert Hartyányi), Sándor Csudai 2019, László Végh 2020, Márton Mónus 2021, Judit Ruprech 2022, Noémi Napsugár Melegh 2023, Szajki Bálint 2024