Sofia Mayor Vasil Terziev picked up a spray can on Sept. 26 to paint graffiti alongside international artists during the opening of the seventh edition of the Sofia Urban Art festival. The initiative transforms the pedestrian underpass on Petko Y. Todorov Boulevard near the Ivan Vazov market into a space for contemporary urban art, bringing together more than 30 Bulgarian and foreign creators.
Municipal Crackdown and Legal Spaces for Street Art
Terziev has repeatedly used social media to target vandals who deface public buildings, cultural monuments, and transit shelters with unauthorized tags. According to the Sofia municipal press center, the mayor has urged perpetrators to protect public property and confine their street art to designated municipal zones. “We will continue to give space to artists and renew neglected spaces, and it depends on all of us to protect what we have made,” Terziev stated during the festival launch.
International Collaboration: United in Colors
Running on Sept. 26 and 27, this year’s festival operates under the theme “United in Colors.” The event features participants from Bulgaria, Denmark, Great Britain, Spain, the Netherlands, Portugal, Poland, Indonesia, Germany, Greece, and North Macedonia. Diplomatic representatives from Great Britain, Spain, the Netherlands, Denmark, Poland, and Indonesia attended the opening alongside the mayor to highlight colors as a universal language connecting communities across borders.
Did you know? Calligrapher Djo Venci developed the visual background for the underpass walls, drawing inspiration from the area’s industrial history, which once included a brick factory and clay quarries where the South Park now sits, according to the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA).
Festival Program and Institutional Partners
Visitors can watch muralists paint live and take part in a two-day schedule featuring a graffiti competition, youth educational workshops, an art bazaar, music, and artist meet-and-greets. Tsvetan Bizev of Sofia Graffiti Tour explained that the event showcases the diversity of street art styles.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is the Sofia Urban Art festival taking place?
The festival is held in the pedestrian underpass on Petko Y. Todorov Boulevard near the Ivan Vazov market.
Who organizes the Sofia Urban Art festival?
What is the theme of the seventh edition?
The theme is “United in Colors,” emphasizing colors as a shared language that connects different communities.
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