They left their mark, not just footprints

Budapest has received a new and distinctive piece of public art: a striking artwork created using mixed techniques was on display in September on a classic advertising column at the corner of II. Janos Pal papa square and Nepszinhaz street. The engaging urban installation was created through a collaboration between the pioneering oat drink brand Oatly and Kastner Kommunity, led by the OPLA poster-making collective, and came to life with the active participation of Budapest residents during a community art event on September 4 2026.

Since April, a striking number of the city’s classic advertising columns – an integral part of Budapest’s urban landscape and a familiar sight since the last century – have stood empty. One of these, located in front of Kastner Kommunity at the intersection of II. Janos Pal papa square and Nepszinhaz street, was waiting for a new role. (The history of advertising columns dates back to the early 1850s, when they were introduced to help bring order to the cleanliness and chaotic poster culture of crowded city streets. The first such columns appeared on the streets of Budapest in 1888.)

Rather than turning the empty surface into yet another advertising space, Oatly and Kastner Kommunity reimagined it as a community canvas – starting with a clean slate. As part of the initiative, two members of the OPLA collective, Anett Sz. Esztero and E. Zsemberi-Szigyartó Miklos, led the creation of a large-scale public artwork using mixed techniques such as collage, stencil and hand-printing techniques on a freshly white-pasted advertising column. Anyone could join in and contribute to the work. During the four-hour workshop, participants collectively developed messages reflecting on the passing summer, heat, climate anxiety and community.

The project also brought an old professional dream to life: “Every poster artist dreams of covering an entire column at least once,” said artist Anett Sz. Esztero before the workshop. This time, it was not a single poster, but a multitude of separate, overlapping thoughts, forms and gestures that covered the entire column – coming together as one collective artwork.

The Sip. Sound. Street. Strokes. event on September 4 also featured a daytime party alongside the street art action. While OPLA artists led the collaborative art-making, DJs from the independent community radio station Lahmacun Radio provided the soundtrack, while Kastner Kommunity welcomed participants with Oatly-based drinks and Neapolitan pizzas from Voilá.

The unusually hot and dry summer provided the backdrop for the event. The organizers wanted to create an experience that would simultaneously reflect on the changing climate while providing an opportunity for communal release, creativity and connection. The central idea behind the project was that, for younger generations, climate change is no longer a distant future problem but part of everyday life – which is why it is worth thinking and talking about together and even leaving a mark through a shared creative experience. And hotter summers call for louder parties – or, in this case, more spectacular actions.

“The empty advertising column is finally no longer advertising something; instead, it is telling a story about the city and the people who use it. We wanted to turn an advertising surface into a genuine community space – and make sure that anyone who came along could add something of their own,” says Judit Járadi, Project Lead, about the initiative jointly developed by Kastner and Oatly.

The resulting public artwork can be viewed in Budapest until mid-September 2026 at the corner of II. Janos Pal papa square and Nepszinhaz street.

Contributors

OPLA Project – Anett Sz. Esztero, E. Zsemberi-Szigyarto Miklos
Lahmacun Radio