Nine Elephants take over Sofia with art in unexpected places

From 9 to 19 July, Sofia will host the third edition of the urban art festival with the eye-catching name "Nine Elephants". According to the organisers, this year's edition, titled Everything We Do, explores the connection between the city and our actions, from everyday activities and small gestures to the city as a place for work and learning, as well as the positive changes we could make if only something did not hold us back.

The projects will raise questions related to community cultural centres, the desire for a fresh start in life, queues outside shops, and the idea of rest as a form of work.

This year's programme features more than 20 artistic projects, created in partnership with two Sofia districts, several cultural organisations and institutions. The festival's main international partner is KADIST, a leading contemporary art organisation.

The festival continues its policy of decentralisation by developing artistic projects beyond Sofia's city centre and encouraging long-term engagement with local communities. In 2026, the programme extends to the neighbourhoods of Fondovi Zhilishta, Iztok, Dragalevtsi and Krastova Vada, Robov Dol Park, as well as the villages of Busintsi and Zheleznitsa.

As part of "Nine Elephants", the international peer-to-peer forum Spontaneous Cities will bring together artists and researchers to exchange experience and practices in the field of urban interventions and research.

The festival will open with Echo Location, an exhibition by renowned Croatian artist Vlatka Horvat at SWIMMING POOL, a non-profit art space in Sofia located on a central rooftop featuring an empty swimming pool built in the 1930s.

Among the festival's highlights is Sofia Night Performance, this year themed Choreographies of Labour, featuring theatre performances, visual art, workshops and poetry.

During the second week, visitors are invited to Opera Ecologica at the Botanical Garden of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, while the festival will conclude in the Fondovi Zhilishta neighbourhood with a concert by Vienna's New Choir.

To mark the occasion, the festival is also publishing the first edition of its urban art handbook, Cities with Imagination.

Edited by Tsvetana Toncheva