This new temporary exhibition at the House of Music Hungary, opening on March 7, 2025, seeks answers to these questions while simultaneously inviting visitors on an absolutely amazing musical journey to discover the forgotten, rarely heard, and unique musical traditions our planet has to offer, drawn from all over: Georgia and Belize to Crete, Patagonia, Iceland, India and far beyond.

Listen. is based on films shot in over thirty countries and featuring over a hundred performers. It is a celebration of our musical and cultural differences and our common roots. No matter where on Earth we are, we express the events and emotions that define our lives through music.

This exhibition thus brings to life the situations, moments, and events that are familiar to all of us, from birth to death, while also allowing us to experience how many different ways that the music associated with these circumstances and celebrations manifests itself in various parts of the world, with different instruments and sounds.

Listen. also shows how listening to each other and communicating are key factors in human development, while music is present in every aspect of our lives.

Listen. - A Musical Journey Around the World has been created through the films of American film director Garry Bassin, the works of Japanese actor/producer/writer Tomoko Yamaguchi, and the joint curatorial work of the House of Music Hungary. 

Garry and Tomoko spent ten years filming in different parts of the world to present humanity’s traditional musical cultural heritage in a multi-part documentary series. In rarely seen and visibly intimate fashion, the films show us live music, traditional music being performed and musical traditions, taking us in the process to some wonderful places around the world.
 

Listen., the new exhibition at the House of Music Hungary, is a unique experiment in how to transform a film into an exciting exhibition. In addition to the projected images, it also stresses the use of audiovisual and spatial organisational tools, as well as physical objects and installations, that support a multi-sensory experience.   

The experiences are universal, they just sound different – ​​with the list of outstanding artists featured in the exhibition including the Garifuna Collective, Carminho, Ivan Duran, Marjan Vahdat, Boban and Marko Marković, and from the Hungarian side, Márta Sebestyén, Félix Lajkó, Parno Graszt, as well as Roby Lakatos and Miklós Lakatos.

Listen. is of crucial importance, encouraging everyone to be open to accepting the unfamiliar. 

The team contributing to The Listen Project included two Hungarians: cinematographerAttila Csoboth and photographer Péter Rákossy.

The exhibition is based on the architectural plans created by BAHCS Architects under the leadership of András Báger, with the installations designed by Antal Bodóczky.

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House of Music Hungary