For the third consecutive year, “Nine Elephants” – a festival for art in the urban environment – invites artists, curators, researchers, urbanists, and interdisciplinary practitioners to participate with projects in this year’s edition of the festival, which will take place between 9 and 19 July 2026 in Sofia and its periphery.

Come and join us in Berlin to share the stories and ideas behind the festival Nine Elephants, celebrate our collaboration with C*SPACE, and launch the Storytellers Journal — collecting experiences from the Urban Storytelling School. An afternoon full of performative presentations, discussions and exchange with collegues on urban interventions. Supported by the European Union (NextGEnerationEU).

The Nine Elephants Festival took part in Varna Forum 2025 titled “Communities and Urban Environment.” We met over 40 panelists and 20 organizations, and joined discussions on communities, cultural heritage, urban transformation, and mobility. For the first time, we also had our own stand, where visitors could explore our publications, merch, and the last copies of “Nine Poems for Nine Elephants.” A huge thank-you to the organizers and to everyone who joined us for such inspiring and thought-provoking conversations!

We are delighted to share with you some of our favorite moments from the second edition of “Nine Elephants” – it was a pleasure to be together again this year! We would like to thank the artists and partners with whom we created these fantastic experiences, as well as our dear audience who joined our events in Sofia, Dolna Dikanya, and Buhovo. We look forward to seeing you again in 2026!

In August, the project “Someone Once Here” by Maria Makedonska and Nikola Zambeli is presented again in Vidin and the village of Pavolche, featuring a screening of the short poetic film created from images collected in Buhovo. The events include a screening, sharing experiences from the project, and a discussion with the audience about local memory and stories. The film and project premiered as part of the Nine Elephants festival, where they were presented as a poetic exploration of disappearing buildings and memories in the outskirts of Sofia.

We are excited to announce the second edition of Nine Elephants and the continuation of a fantastic conversation – for updates, follow us on our website, on social media, or subscribe to our newsletter.

At the end of November, the Collective organizes a lab that brings together people who want to make a difference with urban environments. Viktoria Draganova, initiator of Nine Elephants Festival, joins the lab as a mentor.

Viktoria Draganova will present “Nine Elephants” in Varna within the discussion “Independent Art and the City” at 14:30 at ReBonkers. We would like to thank ACT Association for Contemporary Theatre for inviting us to present our event at a forum dedicated to the role of art in urban environments. The event is part of the festival’s first visit to the maritime capital.