Biennial of Contemporary Art-Plovdiv 2026

Bombs… Fog… Shelter…
The smell of mold leaves stains on your memory, shrinking you into a brittle shell. So that you may forget. We, as human beings, possess this remarkable ability to forget. It is perhaps one of our most useful ways of mastering life…

A tunnel with no exit. A single possible passage leading nowhere.

Where does it lead?

 "FORGOTTEN SPACES" is a challenge to the boundaries of the creative mind. It is an attempt to engage with the raw reality of the shelter and to uncover another of its possible purposes—one known to us only through the metaphorical language of art.

The exhibition will present a wide range of genres and forms of visual art. Biennale 2026 will unfold across two exhibition venues: the gallery of the Society of Plovdiv Artists (opposite the Rectorate of Plovdiv University) and the bomb shelter located on Bunardzhik Hill.

A special focus of this third edition of the Biennale is the conceptual photography of a group of Sofia-based photographers, featured as part of the exhibition in the bomb shelter on Bunardzhik Hill.

The international participation will include artists from Germany, Switzerland, Cuba, and Italy, whose works reflect diverse cultural backgrounds and artistic approaches. Once again, this demonstrates the true value of large-scale international art forums: they allow visitors to encounter the searching—and at times even wandering—spirit of the artist as it explores the world, consciously or unconsciously following the cultural and social traces of the community to which it belongs.

These cultural imprints become an intrinsic part of the artwork itself

Participating Artists:

Tania Hoffman (Germany), Raycho Chakarov (Bulgaria), Rumen Karavalev (Bulgaria), Ivaylo Stoyanov (Bulgaria), Massimo Tiberio (Italy), Borislava Ivanova (Bulgaria), Valentin Vaklinov (Bulgaria), Maike Freess (Germany), Mona Kionen (Germany), Kristina Aleksova (Bulgaria), Maria Nedkova (Bulgaria), Natali Nikolova (Bulgaria), Christoph Damm (Germany), Nikola Henri Lyubenov (Bulgaria), Pamen Momchilov (Bulgaria), Gabi Grigorova (Bulgaria), Vesko Velev (Bulgaria), Ivan Uzunov (Bulgaria), Antonia Duende (Bulgaria), Vesela Grigorieva (Bulgaria), Emilia Milcheva (Bulgaria), Christian Vonarburg (Switzerland), Sonya Ruskov (Bulgaria), Elmer Castillo (Cuba, Havana), Pavlina Sarbova (Bulgaria), Svetla Chirakova (Bulgaria), Deyan Valkov (Bulgaria), Dimitar Nikolov (Bulgaria), Mariana Georgieva – MARNA (Bulgaria), Tsvetan Radenkov (Bulgaria), Angel Geshev (Bulgaria), Miglena Zhivkova (Bulgaria), Catherine Bourdon (Germany), Vladimir Spasov (Bulgaria), Monique Dimitrova (Bulgaria), Katharina Bach (Germany), Irina Gardeva (Bulgaria), Georgi Bradov (Bulgaria), Natali Petrova (Bulgaria), Miglena Zhivkova (Bulgaria).

Opening: 19 August 2026, 7:00 PM
Venue: Bomb Shelter, Bunardzhik Hill

Plovdiv Contemporary Art Biennale 2026 is organized by the "Art Through the Centuries" Foundation, with the support of the Regional Directorate for Fire Safety and Civil Protection – Plovdiv, and in partnership with the Society of Plovdiv Artists, Ivaylo Stoyanov, Valentin Vaklinov, Smisal Club (Sofia), Adriana Dikancheva, Ivo Anev, and students from Paisii Hilendarski University of Plovdiv.

For location link - click HERE: Bunker Shelter (Bunardzhik Hill)