07.15. | A Photography Meet-Up at IKONO Vienna

Don't you hate it when Tuesday's calendar says “creative outdoor photography” and the weather forecast stares back at you with one stubborn word: RAIN?

That's exactly the loop I had been stuck in. Tuesday arrives. It pours. Fine, nature needs water, we need water—but what happens to our photography-and-meet-people evening when the heavens have apparently formed an alliance against us?

A panic attack was approaching. Then Denisz appeared with the rescue plan.

I threw the question into our group chat and he answered immediately: IKONO Vienna.

My own monitor practically raised an eyebrow.

IKONO what?

I had no idea what he meant, but anyone that enthusiastic must be onto something.

I threw myself into the darker corners of the internet like a hyena at dinner and, within minutes, my screen was full of photographs and videos.

Wow.

This wasn't simply a venue. It was visual Disneyland.

Naturally, I said yes to both the location and the experience.

I checked the group-ticket option and contacted the venue through its website. Since I wasn't yet sure who would ultimately coordinate the registrations, I listed Denisz as contact person—after all, it was his idea, so he could enjoy a little responsibility too.

The next day came the answer: 15% discount because our group had more than twelve people.

Victory. Saving money is always beautiful.

I quickly moved the participants into a WhatsApp group, which filled up almost immediately. Interest was so high that the places seemed to disappear in flight.

Then I looked up and—boom—it was Tuesday.

The big day.

We were extremely lucky because, at the venue, a lovely member of staff named Vivienn could help us in Hungarian. So even anyone whose entire German vocabulary consisted of “ein Bier, bitte” had nothing to fear.

And then something even more significant happened: our first non-Hungarian-speaking photo-club member arrived.

But let's talk about the venue itself.

I walked in full of curiosity. I had already planned the assignments in my head.

Then we entered the first room and the whole plan went straight into the bin.

I ended up mixing the teams deliberately: some participants had known each other forever; others were meeting for the first time.

The assignment? Everyone in each team had to make portraits of everyone else, but the model was not allowed to look into the camera.

And there was an additional theme: honesty.

It was extraordinary to see how strongly the different spaces triggered creative energy. People wandered away from the original theme fairly quickly—but the result was a collection of brilliant photographs.

You'll find some of them further down in the post.

Even better, the groups gradually began to mix. No cliques. Photography itself became the excuse for real conversation, and I don't think I've ever seen so many smiles during one of our photo-club days.

The peak came in a room filled with inflatable silver balls that we were allowed to throw around.

New theme: madness.

That one stayed with us for the rest of the experience. By then everyone had loosened up so completely that the teams kept re-forming organically. Nobody retreated into a familiar little circle.

According to Vivienn, most visitors can get through the venue in around 40–60 minutes.

Us?

Two hours.

By the end, I could think of only one thing: how on earth do we top this next week?

The answer arrived quickly.

On Tuesday, July 22, we're going to Haus der Musik.

Prepare yourselves. The next adventure is coming for your ears.

See the photographs here.

Part of the BANHALMI ecosystem

For the professional context and practical side of portrait photography, visit the BANHALMI professional website. Related art series, books and exhibitions are preserved in the BANHALMI ART archive.