31st August – 8th September 2026 //
What kind of future awaits the Danube – and us – if water becomes increasingly scarce?
ERŐ-MŰ is a temporary public art installation by media artist Zsófia Móró that connects the problem of the alarmingly worsening water shortage with the past and present of eco-political activism. Extreme droughts, persistently low water levels, and the decline in the Danube’s flow are no longer distant future scenarios, but part of our present. Issues of access to water, the river’s ecological condition, and energy supply are becoming increasingly intertwined – and all of this compels us to rethink our relationship with the Danube and our practices.
The strongly research-based ERŐ-MŰ is composed of two parts: a public installation and a participatory walk, and the artistic intervention is completed by a thematic discussion.
During the guided walk, participants come into physical contact with the Danube while creating a temporary “human power plant.” In this context, water simultaneously becomes a natural resource, a shared cause, and a tangible manifestation of the current ecological crisis.
The walk takes its starting point in the Danube Movement of the 1980s and the memory of the civil society coalition against the Bős-Nagymaros barrage. The Danube Circle and the associated environmental movements were key players in Hungarian environmental activism, civil society self-organization, and democratic transition. However, the issues raised at that time have by no means lost their relevance: debates continue today regarding the fate of the river, the use of natural resources, community responsibility, and who decides on shared environmental assets.
The program connects these stories and experiences to the current crisis. Through the personal stories and memories of activists and environmentalists, as well as current initiatives related to the Danube, it explores what options we have in a situation where climate change, drought, water scarcity, and the energy crisis are already directly shaping our daily lives.
What does it mean today to stand up for a river? How can water transform from a shared resource into a shared cause, and the crowd itself into a source of energy?
Created by: Zsófia Móró (HU)
Consultant: Orsolya Fodor, freelance theatre maker
Times and locations:
- Installation:
Time: 31st August – 7th September 2026 (ongoing)
Location: Jane Haining Quay (opposite Dunyi, 1052 Budapest, Jane Haining rakpart 7) - Thematic discussion accompanying the intervention:
Time: 6.30PM, 31st August 2026
Location: Jane Haining Quay, opposite Dunyi (in case of bad weather in Valyo Viadukt)
Contributors to the discussion: contributors of the participatory walk
Moderator: Marietta Mogyorósy, landscape and horticultural engineer, nature facilitator
Language: Hungarian
The program is free of charge - Participatory walk:
Time: 6PM – 9PM, 8th September 2026
Meeting point: 1052 Budapest, Vörösmarty square, at the fontaine
Length of the walk: 30 minutes, in 30-minute slots
Language: Hungarian
The program is free of charge, but registration is required.
Registration: HERE
Special thanks: Dunakanyar Környezetvédelmi Egyesület, Fák a Rómain, Göd-ÉRT Egyesület, Levegő Munkacsoport, VízŐrző Mozgalom, Zöld Gerillák, Rétvári László
Special thanks for the location: VALYO – Város és Folyó Egyesület
Budapest Főváros Önkormányzata, Budapest Művelődési Központ, Rakpart, Viadukt Bár