Imagining Cities

“Imagining cities” is a new digital publication and an (almost) handbook of practices, research, and interventions in the urban environment, inspired by the activities of the Center for Social Vision and the “Nine Elephants” festival between 2022 and 2025.

We called this collection a “handbook,” but we like to quietly add a small “almost.” It is an open format for sharing artistic and research practices, bringing together different ways of being present in the city.

The publication brings together 22 artistic projects emerging from specific urban situations — in gaps, at the edges, in dialogue with people, places, and more-than-human environments.
Organized into several thematic strands, they outline practices that seek encounter, micro-actions, and “soft” transformation. Alongside them are analytical texts and shared reflections by the authors, opening possibilities for translating and rethinking these approaches in other contexts.

The handbook includes three exercises for imagination in an urban environment. Each project is accompanied by the section “If you’d like, try this,” offering speculative ways to apply the presented methodologies in other contexts. It is further complemented by “From the Kitchen of Nine Elephants,” a collection of methods, questions, and observations drawn from the festival’s working process.

“Imagining Cities” is available for free digital download in Bulgarian, with an English version coming soon.

With the financial support of the Cultural Programme of Sofia Municipality.