László Kékedi comes from a working-class family. At the age of 13 he carves his first piece, a human head, using tools inherited from his grandfather. In 1980, as a curious and talented young man, he joined the carving workshop of the Miskolc Transport Company run by Miklós Szegedi, a folk applied artist.
In the early years, he is mainly involved in collective work, which is an excellent opportunity for learning and professional development. He is involved in the construction of several playgrounds and memorial parks in Hungary (Muhi, Herman Ottó Memorial Park), but also in Berlin. After his military service, a forced career break, he gets married.
In 1989, the scene of the community's creative work was moved to Kisgyőr, his home village. Together with his master, Miklós Szegedi, they launch the Family Handicraft Camp of Kisgyőr, which has since gained national fame and is held every year. Starting with a few families, the workshop has grown to sixty people.
He took over the management of the camp in 1997. The creative group is made up of local young people who are agile, like and know how to carve, as well as families from all over the country, sometimes even from across the border. Generations work together, creating something lasting for the host community year after year. Meanwhile, in 1992, he began working on traditional barkwork vessels. While researching this specialised field of woodcarving, he meets Tamás Jankovics, from whom he learns the basics of barkwork. Having developed this technique further, he produced a series of award-winning pieces that won him recognition in the profession. In doing so, he gives a new perspective to a craft that has almost been forgotten, demonstrating how folk art can be made alive and functional.
Following in their father's footsteps, his sons, Viktor and Máté, are passing on the knowledge they have acquired to the highest standards. His sons are also active participants in the camps. Along with the rest of their peers, who were once toddlers, they are now full-fledged creative partners in the community, while constantly striving to learn from the ‘old masters’. During the nearly three decades, accepting László Kékedi’s invitation, the youngsters have been assisted by such outstanding masters as the late Samu Szabó, Sándor Andriska, Ottó Frech, and those who still participate: András Galánfi and Sándor Szondi.
As a result of their work, more than seventy outdoor artworks adorn Kisgyőr today, defining the image of the village. ‘A carved village’ is what visitors to Kisgyőr say. The camp also features a good number of other forms of applied art. As ‘family’ is in the name of the camp, there is no lack of women's qualities, which are very much marginalised in our world: the women learn the skills of weaving, spinning, embroider, beadwork, or leatherwork, also under the guidance of skilled craftsmen. The men's activities are not limited to carving either: in 2014, for example, they built a traditional Hungarian dome oven for the village community.
Some of the more significant works of art created by the campers: a cemetery gate, a sweep-pole well, a wooden playhouse for the nursery school, the gate and sign of the Village Hall, a welcome sign, a bus stops, a church gate and fence, a bell tower, monuments for World War I and II, wine fountain with benches, street signs, the Village Gate, monuments for the revolutions of 1848 and 1956 and for the thirteen Hungarian generals executed at Arad in 1849; the Rákóczi Bridge, an open-air stage, a memorial place, public sculptures, and the list continues. Most recently, they built the largest open-air nativity scene in Central Europe, covering an area of 300 square metres, with the church tower of the four historic churches and 17 life-size statues of human figures in costumes decorated with folk art motifs.
László Kékedi plans years ahead and has a concept for how to enrich the village's unified image with new, functional outdoor works that preserve and revive the village's carving traditions and serve the people living there, while also being a tourist attraction.
There is another important benefit of these camps: they encourage people to take ownership of their ancestral heritage. Thanks to this, more people are now making or having wooden gates and fences made for themselves based on old designs. The latest idea is the creation of a carved Calvary on the hillside above the village, with 14 angels holding up the 14 stations, topped by a 6-metre-high sun rosette.
He is a member of the Folk Art Associations of the Hegyalja and Bükkalja Craftsmen, president of latter until 2010. Between 2000-2009 vice-president of Association of Hungarian Folk Art Societies (NESZ), between 2005-2010 president of the National Committee of Woodcarving Experts.
[2014]