Informal Practice-Sharing Within the Upcoming Edition of Nine Elephants Festival Organized by the Center for Social Vision
Dates: 15 – 19 July 2026
Location: Sofia (at Swimming Pool and in public space)
Applictation deadline: 12 June 2026
Outline
Alongside the upcoming edition of Nine Elephants, we invite artists, curators, researchers, and cultural practitioners to join a three-day series of informal, peer-led practice sharing and conversations.
This year, this has led us to focus on the idea of the spontaneous city. Sofia itself has been described as such, shaped by accumulated historical layers rather than a single coherent vision. We observe that in post-socialist cities, spontaneity emerges through gaps in planning, fragmented governance, and overlapping regimes of ownership, producing spaces that are less controlled but also less predictable. In such contexts, spontaneity is not merely a lack of order; it can also be understood as a form of resilience – a way in which people, infrastructures, and environments continuously adapt and reconfigure. This prompts another question: how can people better recognize and act upon shared interests?
Conversely, in the neoliberal “smooth city” (as described by René Boer), urban space becomes increasingly controlled, optimized, and consumption-driven. This tendency can be observed in cities such as Amsterdam, Singapore, Copenhagen, and Dubai, where public space is increasingly shaped by logics of efficiency, branding, surveillance, and consumption. Here, spontaneity is reduced – and with it, the possibility for unexpected forms of togetherness. This raises the question: how can we reintroduce forms of spontaneity that enable connection, care, and collective experience?
We believe these conditions are not isolated. Together, we aim to explore how different contexts can learn from one another – how life unfolds in spaces that escape total design, what remains stable, and what must stay open or indeterminate.
The format of the forum is intentionally informal and process-oriented – a space to exchange methods, tools, and ways of working rather than finalized results.
The event is hosted by the Center for Social Vision as part of the Nine Elephants Festival. This year’s edition, titled Everything We Do, gives space to artistic and interdisciplinary practices in the urban environment and will take place from 9 to 19 July 2026 in Sofia and its surroundings, marking the festival’s third iteration.
Nine Elephants and the forum is financially supported by the National Culture Fund, Ministry of Culture and the Sofia Municipality.
While we are unfortunately unable to cover travel and accommodation costs, we are pleased to offer a limited number of mobility grants (up to 350 euro) based on criteria of strength and relevance of the proposal.
Please note that this grant is available only to those who do not receive other funding that covers part or all of their participation costs. Please indicate clearly if you require financial support, and only if your travel and accommodation are not covered otherwise.
Preliminary schedule of the practice-sharing days:
15 July – evening registration and welcome
16–18 July – Presentations, workshops, outdoor formats
19 July – free program and grand finale of Nine Elephants
For more details about the open call and the application process, visit the link below.
Image credits: Rosina Pencheva / Nine Elephants
