In Bulgaria, a country with one of the lowest levels of voter turnout in Europe, political scientist Ivan Krastev recently referred to it as a “frozen democracy.” This reflects a broader sense of apathy towards political processes, coupled with low levels of civic engagement, as highlighted by the Index vor Civil Engagement. A pervasive lack of trust also marks Bulgarian society – according to the initiative Vision for SofiaIn the light of this, we began to ask ourselves as to what kinds of relationships, stories, sounds, touches and shared imagination might help us care more.

In Berlin, the constant state of transition and redevelopment poses its own set of challenges. For residents – whether new or “old” Berliners – these rapid changes make it challenging to identify with their surroundings and foster a sense of belonging. The current cultural cuts, political transformations, wars, forced migration, and climate change add layers of uncertainty and pessimism about the future.

When discussing both contexts, we ask: how do we ensure these voices and perspectives, so often marginalized, find a place in the larger urban narrative? How do we weave them into the fabric of a city’s story? We wonder, too, how multiple voices in a city come together to form a collective narrative? And how does an artwork convey this polyphony of voices? Is there a narrative in silence? Can the silence of a summer afternoon speak? What stories do young people tell about the places they love to be? Are they the ones who are most often in streets and squares, inhabiting schoolyards, promising futures?

When we ask about the stories of a city, we also ask: Who is telling the story? How does a city narrate itself? Is it through its people, its living and non-living organisms, its roads, signs, or its history? Can we record the stories that the mosses and grasses tell, and what would they sound like? Can we capture the stories of infrastructure told through the inhabitants of a place? Do neighbourhoods have a shared identity and who knows what it is?

Participants in this program are invited to actively engage in creating these urban narratives, drawing from their ideas about the present and their visions for the future. Through their storytelling projects, they can amplify diverse voices and offer new perspectives on the evolving identities of cities. Topics such as local and global identities, heritage, commemoration culture, gentrification, communication with non-human entities, care, access to public space, and inclusion can serve as starting points for exploration. Participants can discuss and build on their ideas for future or existing projects, with the possibility of developing projects from scratch.