WAMP - Hungarian Design & Gastro Fair

Having cancelled my weekend snowboarding trip due to a severe case of the man-flu, my Sunday was completely and utterly free, leaving Budapest once again as my snow-covered playground... A little bird told me about a unique contemporary 'design & gastro' fair named WAMP, held only a few tram stops away, so I figured 'Why not?'

Now, I've been to these 'contemporary' markets before, and I've found that often they are simply a meeting place for the quirky, alternative and experimental young artists out there, and even though they intend to invite everyone from every age, profession and social class, they end up attracting the select few who are already involved with this sort of thing. I am happy report that with WAMP, this simply wasn't the case!

Millenáris Great Hall - Old Factory turned Exhibition Hall

Upon entry, I noticed men, women, children of all ages filling the Millenáris hall in Buda. The exhibition hall was split almost perfectly in two... Food and drink filling one side, design and fashion - the other. Starting in the gastro section, I made my way around, inspecting and taste-testing every single thing I could - jams of all kinds (chilli-honey-cherry-chocolate), chutney, fruit syrup, sausages, a huge selection of hungarian cheeses, cakes, cupcakes, biscuits, chocolates, unique ice-creams (camembart & plum, mulled wine etc), the list goes on..! Every vendor was smiling, generous with samples, and happy, even when you walked away...!

Just a fraction of the unique chocolate that's available...

The gastro section was actually relatively cheap... We managed to get an italian focaccia, a cheese plate with 10 decent sized pieces of different cheeses, and a medium sized tub of the most delicious eggplant cream I've ever tasted... all for 1500ft (€5).. it was more than enough to feed two, and bring half home for later... (only to find out the tub exploded all over the inside of our bag... but that's a story for another day...)!

http://designporta.hu/

Next was the design section, where emerging Hungarian designers showcase their works, from clothes & jewellery to laptop bags, iphone cases and clocks made from old vinyls. From stall to stall there was huge contrast, and it was so easy to see the individual artists' creativity and ideas shining through their works. No two stalls were the same. It was easy to get lost in time as we slowly made our way through every little gem the market had to offer.

The piece that stuck out to me the most was an absolutely beautiful wall hanging of a moose head, made simply from cardboard cutout... so simple, yet stopped many in their tracks during my time there...

Overall, WAMP was a wonderful surprise... the perfect balance of design and gastro means that whatever your interests may be, there is something there for you... The next market is held on the 25th of March in the Millenáris B Hall, and for anyone who hasn't yet seen WAMP, it is definitely worth a visit.

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Written by Ciaran Jackson

Useful Links:

WAMP website -  http://www.wamp.hu/en/
Fair Dates -  http://www.wamp.hu/en/fair_dates
Moose Head Art - http://designporta.hu/

Millenáris Location