Organizer Information
The open call is organized by the Center for Social Vision in collaboration with the Nine Elephants Festival, an interdisciplinary platform dedicated to exploring urban life, social structures, and artistic experimentation within public space. Based in Sofia, the organization develops transdisciplinary programs that bring together artists, researchers, architects, curators, and cultural practitioners to examine how cities evolve through informal interactions, spontaneous encounters, collective care, and alternative forms of social organization.
The Nine Elephants Festival has become an important independent cultural initiative in Bulgaria focused on urban culture, artistic interventions, and socially engaged practices. The 2026 edition, titled Everything We Do, investigates the relationship between artistic practice and the urban environment, encouraging collaborative and process-based approaches rather than purely exhibition-oriented outcomes. The festival is supported financially by the Bulgarian National Culture Fund, the Ministry of Culture, and Sofia Municipality, demonstrating institutional recognition of its contribution to contemporary cultural discourse in Southeast Europe.
The organizers are particularly interested in examining the concept of the “spontaneous city,” especially in post-socialist urban contexts where fragmented governance, informal structures, and layered historical development create environments that remain unpredictable, adaptive, and socially dynamic. Through this practice-sharing forum, they seek to create a temporary platform for dialogue and experimentation among international practitioners working across disciplines.
Title & Description
Spontaneous Cities Open Call – Informal Practice-Sharing 2026
It is an international open call inviting artists, curators, architects, researchers, performers, and cultural practitioners to participate in a peer-led program taking place from 15–19 July 2026 in Sofia, Bulgaria, as part of the Nine Elephants Festival.
The program focuses on the idea of the “spontaneous city” — urban environments shaped not by rigid planning but by informal interactions, adaptive infrastructures, social resilience, collective improvisation, and evolving community relationships. The organizers are interested in practices that investigate how people inhabit and transform cities through everyday actions, temporary uses, collective care systems, and experimental forms of togetherness.
Participants are invited to propose projects, presentations, workshops, performative lectures, walks, scores, or outdoor interventions that engage with themes such as:
- Informal or self-organized urban processes
- Urban ecologies and emergent environments
- Soft transformations and micro-interventions
- Socially engaged artistic practice
- Public space experimentation
- Alternative infrastructures and collective life
- Spatial politics and post-socialist urbanism
- Relational and situated artistic methodologies
Unlike traditional conferences or exhibitions, the format is intentionally informal and process-oriented. The emphasis is placed on exchanging tools, methods, working processes, and unfinished ideas rather than presenting polished final works. The event encourages collaborative thinking, dialogue, experimentation, and interdisciplinary exchange among participants from different cultural and professional backgrounds.
The forum also offers participants the opportunity to engage with the broader Nine Elephants Festival program, meet invited artists and experts, and gain insight into the contemporary Bulgarian art scene.
Categories
- Visual Arts
- Public Art
- Social Practice
- Performance Art
- Architecture
- Urban Research
- Sound Art
- Cartography
- Site-Specific Interventions
- Participatory Art
- Curatorial Practice
- Interdisciplinary Art
- Experimental Methodologies
- Workshops & Educational Formats
- Walking Practices / Urban Walks
- Speculative Practices
The organizers strongly encourage transdisciplinary and collaborative proposals.
Eligibility
- International applicants
- Emerging artists and practitioners
- Established artists and professionals
- Curators
- Architects
- Researchers
- Cultural workers
- Interdisciplinary collectives
There are no stated nationality restrictions or age limits. Applicants from diverse geographic, cultural, and disciplinary backgrounds are encouraged to apply.
The program is particularly suitable for practitioners interested in urbanism, collective processes, public space, ecology, social engagement, and experimental artistic formats.
Program Benefits & Awards
- Participation in the 2026 edition of the Nine Elephants Festival
- Opportunities for peer exchange and networking
- Visibility within an international interdisciplinary platform
- Encounters with invited artists, experts, and cultural practitioners
- Access to the festival’s urban and cultural programming
- Opportunities to learn about the Bulgarian contemporary art scene
- Possibility of collaborative and future professional connections
The organizers also provide:
- A limited number of mobility grants of up to €350
- Invitation letters for participants applying for external mobility funding
- Assistance connecting participants to share accommodation and reduce costs
Although travel and accommodation are generally not fully covered, the organizers actively support participants in seeking external funding opportunities.
Application Fee
None
Application Requirements
Applicants are expected to submit ideas and supporting materials through the application form. While the organizers intentionally keep the application process light and accessible, applicants should generally be prepared to provide:
- Personal and contact information
- Short bio or CV
- Description of the proposed activity or project
- Portfolio or examples of previous work
- Relevant supporting materials or links
- Technical or spatial requirements (if applicable)
- Indication of whether mobility funding is required
Applicants requesting financial support should clearly explain their funding needs and confirm that they do not already receive external travel or accommodation funding.
How to Apply?
Online Application
Key Dates
- Open Call Launch: 12 May 2026
- Application Deadline: 12 June 2026
- Selection Process: Rolling confirmations after submission
- Festival Dates: 9–19 July 2026
- Practice-Sharing Program: 15–19 July 2026
Preliminary Schedule
- 15 July 2026: Registration and welcome gathering
- 16–18 July 2026: Presentations, workshops, walks, and outdoor activities
- 19 July 2026: Free program and Nine Elephants grand finale
Location
Sofia, Bulgaria
Additional Details
The organizers emphasize experimentation, openness, and informality rather than institutional or highly academic presentation structures. The forum is intended as a space for genuine exchange, collaborative learning, and process-based exploration.
Participants are encouraged to engage critically with contemporary urban conditions, particularly themes surrounding informality, resilience, collective organization, and alternative ways of inhabiting cities. The program also seeks to create dialogue between different urban contexts globally, including post-socialist cities, neoliberal metropolitan environments, and emergent forms of urban coexistence.
Practitioners proposing participatory, relational, site-responsive, or socially embedded projects may find this platform particularly relevant. Since confirmations are provided on a rolling basis, applicants are encouraged to apply early.
The organizers also welcome participants for the full duration of the Nine Elephants Festival beyond the practice-sharing dates.